Return of the Queen
by kratos lover1
Summary: Sequel to A Storm Was Brewing in Cruxis. After Mithos is gone, someone wants revenge on Storm and a prophecy will come true. Spoilers. Storm x Zelos! Complete!
1. Chapter 1: Home Again At Last

Disclaimer: I do not own TOS, Namco does (damn you Namco) but I do own Storm, she's mine!

Well, it's time for the sequel. If you haven't read A Storm Was Brewing In Cruxis, you should probably read that first. Written by me, check it out, it's not half bad. Anywho, I hope all my old reviewers like this story as well/

Chapter 1: Home Again At Last

_She took a brief survey of the scenery around her. It was dark and little could be seen past one hundred yards in any direction. She glanced at the people around her. Standing around her were her companions, those whose faces had not been seen for a year. She felt ecstatic to be surrounded by them and wondered why they looked so upset. She noticed the exhausted, yet determined face on her brother as he gazed at the horizon ahead._ _Her father stood tall next to him as he scouted the area, searching for an unknown target. She looked back at the others and saw their fatigued faces staring straight through her._

_She couldn't seem to figure out what was wrong with all of them. The group was usually so lively and active, yet their expressions seemed weak and lifeless. Suddenly, she noticed that in the direction everyone faced, a wall of fire shot across the landscape. She noticed a large mass of people, marching towards the small band of friends. She tried to make out who was coming, but the darkness prevented her from making out any details. All she could make out was a pair of eyes coming through the flames as a person made their way towards the small group. Their eyes, they contained an essence of evil and hatred, and they plunged into the girl's very soul..._

Storm awoke, catching her breath as sweat dripped down her face. That dream...that was the fifth time she'd had that dream...this week. Why was it constantly plaguing her? Storm got out of bed to go downstairs and make some hot chocolate. The sweet drink always seemed to calm her down after her nightmares, and lately it was becoming a regular addition to her diet. She sat down at the table in the small kitchen at Dirk's house as she tried to comprehend the meaning of her dream for about the hundredth time.

She soon heard a pair of feet slowly descend the stairs. She didn't even bother to raise her head for she knew who the feet belonged to by now.

"Couldn't sleep again?" her father asked her softly.

"How could you tell?" Storm replied sarcastically as Kratos placed himself across from her at the table.

"The same dream then I'm guessing," her father assumed.

"Yeah, I still can't understand it," Storm replied.

"It's probably just the excitement of being back. We have been on Derris-Kharlan for a year and we've only been back a little over a week. Don't worry too much about it, okay?" Kratos replied.

"All right, thanks Dad," Storm replied.

"No problem, now get to bed," he answered. Storm began to wander back to her room, which Lloyd and Dirk added on soon before their arrival along with one for Kratos, when her Dad spoke up at her. "Storm?"

"Yeah?"she asked.

"Maybe seeing Zelos would help," he suggested before returning to his room.

"Maybe...," she said to herself.

The next morning, Storm went downstairs to be greeted by Dirk and Kratos at the table, both enjoying breakfast.

"Storm, could you do us alla favor and wake up Lloyd?" Dirk asked.

"No problem," Storm said with a large grin on her face.

Storm crept quietly into Lloyd's room. She looked in and saw that her brother was out like a rock, sprawled out in his bed. She quietly walked over to him and whispered into his ear.

"Lloyd...Lloyd wake up," she said.

The only response Storm received was a groan as he rolled on his side, facing away from her. She then decided to reach over as she plugged his nose. He began to struggle and snapped awake at the lack of oxygen. At the sight of Storm, he threw the covers over his head and attempted to go back to sleep.

"All right, no more miss nice girl. Sacred powers, cast light upon this corrupted soul..." Storm began.

"I'm up, I'm up," Lloyd yelled as he flew out of bed.

"That's what I thought," Storm said as she watched him fly out of the room.

Back at the table, Lloyd was gobbling down the pancakes that Kratos had made and was about to eat the last one when Kratos slapped him in the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" Lloyd asked.

"Storm hasn't eaten yet, why don't you save at least one for her, after all, you already ate four," Kratos replied angrily as Storm came down the stairs.

"That's all right Dad, I'm going to Meltokio today to see Zelos," she answered cheerfully.

"Hey, you know we haven't seen any of them for a long time. If you see them why don't you tell them to come here and we can catch up," Lloyd said enthusiastically.

"That's a great idea, we can find out what everyone's been up to. All right, I'll gather the old team up but I won't be back for a couple of days so, Lloyd, you can have my share of the food while I'm gone," Storm replied with a smile.

"All right!" Lloyd replied as he reached for the last pancake and quickly gobbled it down.

Storm walked out of the house and she flew off towards Meltokio to meet her old friend. She didn't notice the activity that was going on at what used to be the old Iselia Human Ranch. She also didn't realize that someone was watching her, plotting against her not far away.

That's the first chapter for anyone who cares. I hope you all like it and I hope you will like this story. Review okay?


	2. Chapter 2: Rumors

1Yay! The new story is going, I'm so excited to see where I can take this story, hopefully it will be better than the original. I want to respond to my reviewers before I do anything else.

**luigidog: **Good, I'm glad that I was able to create a good beginning, and now I can take this story anywhere I want. This story is completely original, I'm so excited! Thanks for the review!

**PotatoPuff: **Thanks a lot, I hope I can keep up the quality that everyone expects out of this story. I actually had this story almost all the way written before I even finished the last story. That made it really easy to get it up quickly, of course, having some spare time never hurt either.

**inuyahsa fangirl: **Yay! More skits, funny, I love em'! I can't wait and I hope that you enjoy the sequel! It's gonna be great, no more Uncle Mithos though! Oh, darn...

**muffineer: **Who's the creepy stalker/watcher person? I don't know...just kidding I do! But, I'm not telling you! Mwahahahaha! Sorry, evil moment there. Ignore that!

**Judgment Flame: **Another story, this one has to be one hundred percent original, minus the characters of course, but that doesn't count. Don't expect that three chapters a day thing anymore, at least not for a long time. Thanks for your review!

**Ana Paula: **I'm glad that you like it! I really can't wait to really get into the story plot, unfortunately, I have to set up for it first. (sigh) Anyway, thanks for the review and keep reading!

**Black flame: **Thanks for the review and I hope this story lives up to its expectations. I'm glad that you like it so far, it'll get even better once I'm done setting things up for the big plot. Keep reading!

**Kratos Wilder: **I'm glad that I pulled off the sibling thing good enough. I really don't have any siblings, only child, so I'm unfamiliar with what it's like to have a brother/sister. Of course, that means that I should act like I just got a sibling, then I would feel exactly like Storm. She was an only child for a long time. Cool, maybe I have a hidden brother somewhere too. Thanks for the review as always! Keep reading and writing!

Chapter 2: Rumors

Storm arrived outside of Meltokio and she was very anxious to get to Zelos' mansion. She had been thinking about him all the time since she was gone, but she was worried that he may have forgotten her. Zelos had no idea that Storm was coming and she hoped that he was home when she arrived at the entrance to his huge house.

She cautiously walked to the door and went to knock on it. She stopped herself, she began to wonder if he would really want to see her. He was probably plenty happy without her in his life getting in the way. She thought about it for awhile then decided that she could at least relay Lloyd's invitation. She knocked on the door which was soon answered by Zelos' butler.

"Yes?" the butler asked.

"Um...is...is Zelos at home?" Storm nervously asked.

"Who is it?" Zelos called from another room.

The butler stared hard at Storm, obviously waiting for her reply for him to relay back to Zelos.

"Oh! I'm Storm Aurion," Storm answered.

"A Miss Storm Aurion sir," the butler called back.

There was no initial response, but suddenly Storm saw Zelos as he quickly rounded the corner, charging full speed at her. When he reached her he flew through the door and scooped her up into a huge bear hug. "Storm, you're back, you're finally back!" Zelos cheered as he continued to hug her.

"Yeah, I didn't think you'd be this excited to see me," Storm said.

Zelos let her back down and looked straight into her eyes. "Of course, I missed you. I missed you a lot Storm," he replied.

"Me too," Storm said as they embraced each other in another hug.

After a whole lot of hugging the two finally decided to go inside so they could catch up. Zelos got something for them both to drink as they went into the parlor to discuss what they had both been up to. Suddenly, before they could both begin to talk a girl walked in from the other room. Storm spotted her and, at first, she suspected that Zelos had gone back to his old habits.

"Who's that?" Storm asked as she pointed to the girl.

"I'm Seles," the girl replied, "I'm Zelos' sister."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't introduce you two. This is my sister Seles. After the title of Chosen disappeared completely, Seles was let out of the abbey she was in, so I invited her to live here with me for awhile," Zelos explained.

"So, I guess the church has finally been reorganized," Storm added.

"Yeah, it took a lot of work, but the church has been reorganized, no one will ever have to be sacrificed as a Chosen again," Zelos said proudly.

"That's wonderful news, so have you been enjoying your new life?" Storm asked.

" Well, I've kind of missed everyone," Zelos admitted.

"Me too, that's why I'm here. I'm trying to find the old team for a reunion, what do you think?" Storm asked.

"Sounds like a great idea! And, I can help you find everyone," Zelos answered.

"Sure, that would be great," Storm replied.

"So, before we leave to find everyone, why don't you tell me what you've been up to in Derris Kharlan," Zelos suggested.

"Well, Dad and I helped the angels gain their souls, then we destroyed the exspheres in Derris Kharlan," Storm said.

"You brought life back into the lifeless beings?" Zelos asked curiously.

"Yeah, now they act like you and me," Storm answered.

"That's great! Well," Zelos started as he got out of his seat, "what's say we get this show on the road."

"All right, where to first? Storm asked.

"Altamira, to meet up with Presea and Regal of course," Zelos answered.

"All right, let's go," Storm replied as she got up and they headed for the door.

Once the two had reached Altamira, they gained entrance to the Lazereno Company building where they were allowed to meet with Regal and Presea. They met in a conference room of some sort. After Storm and Zelos finished explaining the reunion, Regal and Presea both eagerly accepted the offer.

"That's a great idea, I do miss the old group," Regal said.

"Yes, and it would be a good opportunity to take a break from the business," Presea added.

"Great, all that's left now is to find Sheena, Genis, and Raine. Lloyd will tell Colette I'm sure, she's in Iselia after all. If he can't walk to Iselia, then I give up," Storm said.

"Before you go, we wanted to ask you guys of you've heard the rumors?" Regal asked.

"What rumors?" Zelos asked.

"Well, supposedly there has been some activity around almost all of the human ranches in what used to be Sylverant. No one knows who's there, but people swear that there has been a lot of activity going on there," Regal answered.

"Hmm..who would be going to the human ranches?" Storm asked as she looked at Zelos.

"I don't know, but I bet we could ask Sheena. The people of Mizuho seem to know just about everything," Zelos said.

"Yeah, then we could also ask her where Raine and Genis are," Storm replied.

"We'll head over to Iselia and meet you guys at Lloyd's house later," Regal said as Zelos and Storm left the room.

Once the two had reached Mizuho, they were immediately greeted by their friend Sheena. She was now the chief of Mizuho and she greeted Storm with a huge hug.

"It's so great to see you both, but what brings you to Mizuho?" Sheena asked.

Storm explained the reunion to Sheena who happily accepted the invitation. "This is so exciting, I've been thinking about everyone since we split up," Sheena said excitedly.

"Hey Sheena? Do you happen to know where Raine and Genis are these days?" Zelos asked the summoner.

"Yeah, our reports indicate that they are helping to rebuild the city of Luin," Sheena answered quickly.

"Wow, well, then do you also know about the rumors of people at the human ranches?" Storm asked.

"We actually sent spies over to investigate the rumors, but we couldn't find any trace of people being there any time recently. If there were people there they've done a very good job at hiding the evidence," Sheena replied.

"Oh, I see. Well, I guess it's Luin for us next," Storm answered.

"That's fine, I'll head over to Lloyd's place and meet up with you once you get Raine and Genis," Sheena said as she happily returned to her room.

"Well, I guess Genis and Raine are the only ones left and we can finally go and join up with the others," Zelos said as he and Storm left Mizuho and revealed their angel wings to fly to Luin.

"Yeah, but, I still have to wonder about the rumors of people at the human ranches," Storm said.

"Don't worry, if Mizuho couldn't find anyone, then there was probably no one there," Zelos replied.

"I guess you're right," Storm replied uneasily.

Well, how was this chapter, I know it's probably kind of boring because I'm still trying to set up for the story. The next chapter has some action and fighting so be prepared. Please review and tell me what you think!


	3. Chapter 3: Attack in the Night

1Okay, I decided to right this one right after I posted the last chapter, sorry but I may not have too much time to update until at least Sunday. Sorry, bear with me. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, even though I haven't read any of the reviews yet. Sorry. I'm sure they were all worth thanking, so if you reviewed: Thanks a lot and I hope you all like this chapter.

Chapter 3: Attack in the Night

Once Zelos and Storm arrived in Luin, they began to search through the newly rebuilt town. Suddenly, they saw what looked Genis standing in front of a small store.

"Genis!" Storm yelled as she ran over to the young mage.

"Storm? Zelos? What are you two doing here?" Genis asked, suddenly Raine came out of the store with a large bag in her arms which she dropped at the sight of the two.

"What are you doing here?" Raine asked.

"Well, there's a reunion of the old team at Lloyd's house and we're here to invite you. So do you want to go?" Storm asked.

"Of course we'll go," Raine announced. "But, there's no way that we'll make it there today, it's almost dark already. You're probably tired anyway, we'll stay at the inn for the night."

"Okay, I guess we could stay here for the night," Storm replied.

"Yeah, hey how's your quest to end discrimination going?" Zelos asked as they all made their way to the inn.

"Good, we've managed to spread the word in several cities. Luin is one of them, if you look around you can see that there are half-elves, humans, and even some elves living here together. The children go to school together, they grow up together, and they even are getting married together and having children together. Discrimination can end, it will just take a while. I'm happy to have gotten this far this fast," Raine said proudly at her and her brother's accomplishments.

"That's great! Maybe there is hope!" Storm exclaimed.

When they finally arrived at the inn they all went to their separate rooms as they prepared for the next day. Storm went to her room, wondering if she would be plagued once again by her nightmares. She couldn't understand why all of a sudden she was so sensitive to her dreams. She laid down and was unable to sleep. She felt as if someone was watching her. She looked around the dark room, only to find that her senses were playing tricks on her.

Little did Storm know, but someone was watching her and they were prepared to fight her. Whoever, or whatever it was, was standing a few feet away from her window and was looking in at its prey. It lowered itself, almost crouching, ready to pounce on the defenseless angel.

Storm couldn't sleep if her life depended on it and she rolled from side to side in her bed and kept changing her position as she attempted to get comfortable. She finally settled on a spot that provided a source of comfort and she breathed a large sigh as she gently shut her eyes.

The next few moments flung Storm into a feeling of pain and confusions as she heard the window and part of the wall to her room, break and shatter into thousands of pieces. Something tackled Storm into the wall of her room as it struggled to suffocate the struggling girl. Storm fought back as the person sliced her in the stomach causing a large amount of pain to shoot through her system and a scream escaped her lips. She struggled against the person's weight as she threw them off of her. She didn't have her sword on her at the moment and she was reduced to fighting with what she had.

The rest of the group heard the large crash and the scream that came from Storm's room as they rushed to where the battle was already heating up. Zelos brought his sword and attacked the person who was fighting Storm. They were all unable to see their face in the pitch black room. After Zelos and the others entered the room the person began to retreat. Storm wasn't going to let the creep get away as she immediately began to chase down her attacker.

She followed the mysterious assassin to the Asgard Human Ranch. Storm lost sight of the person after he entered the ranch. Storm cautiously entered but saw that the building was empty and even her attacker was no where to be found. She was about to head back to Luin when she suddenly collapsed to the ground. She hadn't noticed all the blood she had lost from her wound and was unable to go any farther. At the rate she was losing blood she would be gone in a few minutes.

_Damn, I fought so hard, for so long, and this is how I'm going to die? Storm thought as she began grow dizzy._

"Storm!" Zelos yelled as he entered the ranch and ran to her side. "Raine you have to heal her, before it's too late," he pleaded.

"Of course," Raine said as she held her staff over Storm. The staff began to glow and Storm began to feel the energy flowing back into her. She slowly got to her feet and looked around the room once more.

"What's wrong?" Genis asked.

"I could have sworn that that person came in here, but I don't see anyone," Storm said.

"Maybe he snuck out," Zelos suggested.

"I don't know," Storm replied.

"Well, I think that we should probably head to Lloyd's house, it's not safe around here anymore, besides the inn is kind of ruined," Raine said.

"All right," the others replied as they left the abandoned human ranch.

As they were walking towards Luin so Genis and Raine could get their Rheihards, Storm stopped when she heard a soft noise come from behind them.

"What is it?" Zelos asked, he and the rest of the group were already a few feet in front of her.

"Storm turned towards the source of the noise. "I don't know, but it sounds like someone's following..." Storm's sentence was cut off as she was once again tackled to the ground by the mysterious attacker. Then, a dark figure crept out of the darkness and grabbed the struggling girl from behind, placing a sword across her throat. "If you move I kill her," the voice said.

"Let her go!" Zelos yelled.

"Why would I want to do that? My master wants her, I would kill her myself but my master wants the pleasure," the voice said.

"Let me go," Storm choked out. "I will attack you."

"You can't use any spells, you don't have enough time to cast them. I will kill you believe me, but wouldn't it be wiser to be a good girl and live a little longer?" the voice was beginning to sound familiar to Storm, she'd heard that demented voice somewhere before.

"Kvar?" Storm asked the black figure.

"The one and only," Kvar replied.

"How are you alive, I saw Dad kill you?" Storm asked.

"My master found a way to resurrect all of the Desian leaders that you and your friends killed," Kvar replied.

"Who's your master?" Storm asked.

"All in good time my dear," Kvar replied. "Now that this reunion is over I believe that it's time for me and Storm to leave. Don't try and follow us or I will kill her," Kvar said with a laugh as he left leading Storm, with his sword placed firmly on her throat. He then had the mysterious attacker attack her until she was knocked out cold.

"What are we going to do?" Zelos asked worriedly.

"We need to go to Lloyd's house and get the others. I have a feeling we're going to need all their help to save her. I don't know what they want with Storm, but her life is apparently at stake and we need to hurry. This news won't be easy to break to Kratos, so Genis please try and be respectful," Raine said.

"I will, geez..." he replied.

Well, was it suspenseful? Sorry I left everyone with a cliffie, I don't know when I'll get the opportunity to update so please be patient with me. Review pretty please.


	4. Chapter 4: Captured

1Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up but I was very busy and I'm happy to say that at the present moment there is nothing to do so I get to update. Please don't hate me for making you wait! When I get days off I will update as much as possible. I only have one day off and that is January first (yes I have to work on Christmas day) but even then I'm having another Christmas with my family. So, sorry if I'm slow over the holidays, bear with me.

Chapter 4: Captured

"You let _what _happen to my daughter?" Kratos yelled at the top of his lungs at Zelos who cowered in fear at the seraph. Raine jumped in front of Zelos before Kratos was able to grab a hold of him. Lloyd managed to grab his father by the arm to calm him down.

"It wasn't his fault, we didn't do anything, if we tried to save her Kvar would have killed her then. She's alive for now but we have to find her before they do something horrible," Raine said to Kratos.

"She's right Dad, don't blame Zelos. If I know him, I know that he would have tried to save her, but I'm sure that she's fine. You know, she can take of herself pretty well if she has to," Lloyd said, trying his best to reassure his father.

Kratos stared down at the ground, trying to avoid the gaze of the others as his eyes began to fill up with tears. He refused to allow himself to cry so he held back all the emotion that was trying to rush out of him. He looked up at the group and nodded.

"You're right...I just would never be able to forgive myself if she was...killed...like Anna. I don't know what I would do," Kratos replied.

"Dad, nothing will happen to her, I won't let anything happen to my sister. But, you know, standing around here isn't going to bring her back so I say we get going and rescue her," Lloyd said.

"You're right, and when I find Kvar he will pay for what he's done," Kratos said as he led the others to the Rheihards.

"You know Lloyd, you manage to say smart things every once in a while," Genis said as they left Dirk's house.

"Thanks Genis. Wait, what do you mean, 'every once in a while?'" Lloyd asked.

"Never mind Lloyd," Genis said as he ran ahead. Lloyd, wearing a very confused face turned around and saw Zelos with a very concerned and depressed look on his.

"It'll be okay Zelos, we'll find her," Lloyd told the ex-Chosen.

"Yeah. I never told you before, but I really like Storm," Zelos said.

"We all do. That's why we're all going after her," Lloyd replied oblivious to what Zelos was trying to tell him.

"Yeah, I know," Zelos replied giving up on giving Lloyd any more hints to his love for Storm.

"There's one thing that I can't figure out," Lloyd said to Zelos.

"What's that?" Zelos asked.

"Why does Kvar only want to kill Storm?" Lloyd asked.

"I don't know," Zelos replied.

Storm woke up with her head screaming in pain. She put her hand to her head, only to find blood coming from a large gash on her head. It was fresh, which told her that she wasn't knocked out for very long. She tried to look around her surroundings but she couldn't see anything past her hand. The room was almost completely dark. The only source of light was from the small crack from the door. Wherever she was was damp and cold, she tried to get up and move around but she was restricted to a small spot in the corner of what seemed to be a small cell. She had chains that were attached to the walls, attached to both her arms and legs. She tried to focus on the events that had just happened, but was unable to concentrate very long, due to the reoccurring pain in her head. She was unable to stand or balance without feeling sick and soon decided it best to sit down. She could tell that someone had used the butt of their sword to knock her unconscious and she was afraid that she may have suffered a slight concussion. Of course, they were the same kinds of pain she often felt at the hands of Cruxis while growing up.

Suddenly, the door opened spilling a ton of light into the room. Storm had to close her eyes. Her eyes were not adjusted to the light and her head injury made everything ten times worse. After a few seconds she squinted and saw Kvar and three Desian guards standing in front of her. Storm slowly sat herself up so she could stare her attacker in the face. She leaned up against the wall as she was unable to sit or stand up straight from the pain in her head. Kvar smirked at the pain she was in and slowly walked up to her.

"Don't worry, the pain will be gone soon enough. Once my master arrives, they'll make sure that you are good and dead," Kvar said.

"Why does your master want me dead anyway?" Storm asked.

"Well, with you dead, the prophecy can't come true," Kvar replied.

"What prophecy?" Storm asked.

"Why do you care anyway? You'll be dead soon anyway. It's none of your business," Kvar replied.

"You know, it's pretty pathetic that you're so desperate to kill a seventeen year old off. What, you can't even complete your plan with me in the way? How sad is that?" Storm replied with a small laugh.

Kvar grabbed her angrily by the chin and stared her in her face. "You know if it wasn't for my master, I'd kill you right now. I'd kill you right in front of your pathetic excuse for a father too. Just like your mother was. I can remember her screaming and your father begging me to spare her life. _That_ was truly pathetic," Kvar spat back at her.

Storm spat in his face causing him to let her go and jump back from her. "Don't you dare insult my family, I'll kill you," Storm replied with rage in her eyes.

Kvar was enraged by this time he whispered something to one of the guards who left the room. "That attitude is something I think we need to sort out before my master gets here," Kvar said.

"Yggdrassil couldn't get rid of my attitude, what makes you think that you or your master would be able to rid me of it?" Storm asked.

"We'll see how long that you think that way," Kvar replied as the Desian guard returned with a whip in his hand. Kvar grabbed the whip and prepared himself to strike Storm. He raised his arm and began to strike her with the whip.

The whip was slicing through her clothing and flesh. She held in all of her cries of pain. She didn't want Kvar to think that he was winning this fight. Finally, Storm decided she had had enough. When Kvar went to strike her again with the whip she quickly grabbed it. She flung the whip, along with Kvar into the wall near her. Once he was slammed into the wall, she used all the strength that she had and moved towards him ready to bring her own form of punishment. (A/N pretty much beat the crap out of him, go Storm!) But, before she could reach Kvar, she herself was slammed into the wall. The three guards had managed to all tackle her at once to prevent her attack. Her head was slammed into the wall, causing a huge amount of pain as she felt blood once again trickle down her forehead. One of the guards had sliced into her arm and another in her side with their swords as they pushed her into the wall. Storm couldn't hold back her cries of pain. The guards held her in place as Kvar slowly got to his feet and kicked her hard in the stomach before they all left her again in the dark prison.

_Maybe I'll just die here, then it will all be over, Storm thought as she was lying on the cold, hard floor of her cell._

"Are you sure this is where they took her?" Kratos asked as the group continued to search the abandoned looking human ranch.

"This place looks exactly like it did when we blew it up, there's no way that they're here," Sheena added.

"No! This is where I saw them take her. We can't give up yet," Zelos replied.

"I'm getting tired, if she's not here we shouldn't keep looking. If we stay here too long we'll never find her," Lloyd said as he sat on what used to be a wall. When he sat down on it, one of the stones pushed in, opening a secret passage that led underneath the human ranch.

"Lloyd! Your short attention span actually helped us!" Genis said to his friend.

"Thanks a lot Genis," Lloyd replied happily, oblivious to the insult that was just thrown at him.

"So, how are we planning on getting Storm out?" Raine asked before the group entered.

"I'm planning on taking her out by force. I will kill anyone who dares to get in my way," Kratos replied, eager to enter the passage.

"Okay...that sounds like the quickest way to me," Lloyd replied.

"Fine, I guess that sneaking in may be too slow and time is not on our side," Raine replied as the group prepared to enter the passage to rescue Storm.

Sorry that I didn't write any responses but I wanted to get this up today please don't be upset. Just know that I thank each and every one of you for reviewing my story. It takes awhilr to right responses and I barely finished this story today. Hopefully next time I will be able to get them in the story.


	5. Chapter 5: The Rescue

1Okay, I will now be responding to reviews by using the reply on the logged in people's name. That way I can save time by responding as I get reviews. If you don't log in I will include you in a big general response. So, anyway I'm glad that everyone has been enjoying this story and to blackflame it has stopped snowing here as of now but last week we actually got a snow day because of it. So far this week, we've had absolutely no snow. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and I hope to hear from everyone of you again and to get your opinions on things.

Chapter 5: The Rescue

The group rushed into the passageway and came out to a society they would have never imagined. It was like a whole underground city. There were places for housing large numbers of Desian soldiers. There were stores, hospitals, training centers, and every other building that could ever come in handy. There were Desian soldiers everywhere, but the group wasn't going to let that stop them from finding Storm. They rushed out into the open and began to run, looking for anything that looked like a prison.

A small group of Desians spotted the group and Lloyd, Zelos, and Kratos drew their swords at the men who dared to get in their path. Lloyd took two of them out with his Demon Fang attack. He then rushed to another one, attacking him with a Rising Falcon attack. Zelos slashed his sword through one of the soldiers, ripping a hole in shoulder and knocking him to the ground. Kratos used his Super Lightning Blade attack to finish off the remainder of the soldiers.

The group continued their way through the city. Finally, they stopped to decide on a real plan.

"This isn't working, we need to split up to find her," Sheena suggested.

"Okay, Raine will come with me, Colette and Lloyd can go together, Regal and Presea are together, and Genis can go along with Zelos and Sheena. Meet back at the entrance in half an hour. If no one has found her by then we will search together," Kratos suggested as the group immediately got into their designated groups and began to search the city.

Raine and Kratos both made their way around the city until Kratos found a lone Desian guard. Kratos moved silently behind him and placed his sword on his throat and his hand over his mouth.

"Okay, you'll tell me where Kvar took Storm or else I will kill you right here. I kid you not, I wouldn't bluff about something like this," Kratos whispered into his ear.

"S...she's down this hallway and to the right. She's inside the prison at the end of the street. Go inside and she's in the cell at the back of the prison," the guard stuttered.

"Thanks," Kratos said as he knocked the guard unconscious so he couldn't find help.

Raine and Kratos followed the guards directions and managed to find their way to the prison. Kratos and Raine broke into the prison with some forceful persuasion from Kratos. They rushed through the prison until they found Storm's cell. It was different from the other cells in the fact that it was a room instead of a regular cell with bars. There were two guards standing at the door. Kratos ran over to them and attacked both of them with a Double Demon Fang attack. He then checked both guards and found a key on one of them. They then prepared for the worst as they opened the door.

The first thing the two noticed was how dark it was in the cell. It took a few moments for them to even see where Storm was at. She was at the far end of the cell in the corner. Her back was to them and she was lying on her side. She looked dead at first glance. Kratos ran over to her afraid that he was too late for her. When he got to her, he took hold of her and felt how cold she was from being in the room for so long. She groaned a little, letting him know that she was in fact still alive. He got onto his knees and cradled her in his lap. He noticed the cuts on her side, arm, and head. Raine also noticed and saw how much blood that she had lost on the floor. She used her First Aid technique and sealed up the wounds. Unfortunately, Raine couldn't help with Storm's concussion or the effect of losing so much blood.

Kratos picked her up and they left the room. Storm opened her eyes slightly when they got out of the cell.

"Daddy?" was all she was able to squeak out.

"Shh...do not push yourself too much, just relax, I'm here," Kratos said to his daughter as she shut her eyes again and nestled her head into his chest.

Raine and Kratos made their way through the hallways, trying to make their way back to the entrance without drawing too much attention to themselves. They were almost to where they had entered when suddenly Kratos heard a voice that ran a chill up his spine and caused rage to flow through his very being.

"Where do you think you are going with that child?" Kvar asked behind Kratos.

Kratos turned around and glared into the eyes of the man that had once caused him so much pain. He killed his wife and had almost killed his daughter.

"If you don't mind, I believe that you should return what belongs to me," Kvar said.

"She does not belong to you Kvar, and she won't be going back with you," Kratos said as he set Storm down next to Raine. Storm had woken up slightly and was listening to the conversation that was going on.

"You know, it's such a pity. Everyone that you ever care for only suffers pain and death. She'll be another Anna someday. You know that, don't you? Anna...that poor woman, to think that she would've been better off had she never met you, how unfortunate," Kvar said as he slowly began to make his way to Kratos.

Storm was becoming enraged at what Kvar was saying. She knew her father always meant well for all of them. He did his best to raise her and Lloyd and she knew he loved her mother. She also knew that what Kvar was saying would easily affect Kratos. She wished that she was able to help him, she wanted to let him know that she cared. She wanted to help him defeat Kvar...again. She knew she could do nothing but she was keeping her father in her heart and was trying to gather up any amount of strength that she had left in her body.

"You know, you should have really taught your daughter some manners. She was very rude to me so I decided to take her punishment into my own hands," Kvar sneered.

"You will pay for what you did to her," Kratos spat back, not once taking his eyes off the Desian Cardinal as he drew his sword.

"Once I get rid of you I will make sure that her and your son are both dead, then I will truly have my revenge," Kvar said as he drew out his sword.

The two began to fight as Storm began to wish more and more that she could get up and help her dad. She pleaded with what felt like her entire body, mind, and soul for strength. Raine was watching the battle and began to notice that Storm's entire body was glowing with a bright white light. She gasped as she saw Storm slowly get to her feet.

Storm could feel it, somehow all of her strength was returning to her. Her dizziness and fatigue subsided and she felt better than she had before she was ever attacked. She rose to her feet and revealed her wings. She began to chant. When she started her attack both Kvar and Kratos stopped their battle and looked at her in amazement. She was emitting a very bright white light and was preparing her spell.

Kvar took this moment to make a break for it, leaving two Desians to fend for themselves as Storm's Angel Feathers attack slammed them into a wall. Once her spell was over, Storm ran over to her father who greeted her with a hug.

"How did you heal yourself?" Raine asked as she walked over to the two.

"I really don't know. I just really wished that I could help Dad and somehow I felt all my strength return to me. It feels like the weakness from losing all that blood is gone as well as the effects of that concussion," Storm replied.

The three of them all returned to the entrance and waited for the rest of the group to return. She saw Lloyd's group come. When he arrived and saw Storm he ran to her and gave her a big hug.

"You're okay! So, what happened to Kvar?" Lloyd asked.

"He escaped, this time," Storm replied. "Believe me though, when I find him I will make him pay."

Soon, Storm saw Zelos and his group arriving. She ran over to him and he picked her up in a large hug which she was more than happy to return. Kratos saw how happy the two were and actually smiled at his daughter's choice.

"Kratos, you're smiling," Raine whispered to the seraph.

Kratos kept gazing at the young couple and repied, "I believe that my daughter is finally happy."

"So, where are we going now? We have to find out why Kvar tried to kill Storm," Sheena pointed out.

"We need to go to Heimdall," Storm replied.

"Why Heimdall?" Genis asked.

"Well, Kvar said something about a prophecy and I figured that the elder would probably know something about that," Storm replied.

"Well, that's about all we've got for now," Lloyd replied. "It's off to Heimdall for us."

Well, that's it for this chapter. I'm sorry that it was short and all but hey, I got it up right? That's what really matters, that and that Storm is safe. Anyway, preview for next chapter. The group goes to Heimdall and finds out about the prophecy and even Storm's mysterious background. Why is she an angel, half-elf, elf, and human? Man, that has got to be hard to fill in on those standardized tests when they get to race. She needs an all of the above category. Anyway, thanks for reading and please, please, please review!


	6. Chapter 6: The Prophecy

1Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I really hope that everyone enjoys the next one. This chapter will contain a lot of info on Storm's past and why Kvar was trying to kill her. Okay, so thanks again to everyone who reads and reviews, I love to hear from each and every one of you. Here we go.

Chapter 6: The Prophecy

The group arrived at the elven city of Heimdall in short time. Kratos called Yuan so they could all get together with the elder to find out what was going on. Yuan showed concern and worry for Storm's safety after hearing about what she had just been through. He agreed to meet the rest of them at Heimdall as soon as possible.

Once they arrived at the entrance to the city, Raine and Genis stopped at the gate. The others went in easily as the guards saw them with Kratos.

"Well, I guess we'll stay out here while you all go inside," Raine said sadly.

"I don't think so," Storm replied as she led them into the village. A few guards saw Raine and Genis and kept them from entering the village.

"Sorry, but we cannot allow a couple of half-elves to enter our village," one of the guards said to Storm. "You may go ahead and enter though Miss Aurion."

Unknown to Storm, the village elder was listening in to the conversation she was about to have with the two guards. He was curious to see what her reaction would be. It was almost like a test.

"Excuse me? I think these two are more than deserving enough to come into your village. Just because someone is a different race than you or me doesn't make them a bad person. In fact, these two are probably better people than anyone else in our group. If they aren't coming in with me than I won't go in at all," Storm demanded as she got into the guard's face.

"Hey, look here kid...," the guard began.

"Let them pass," the elder said revealing himself.

"Y...yes sir," the guard replied as he allowed the three of them to pass through the gates.

"So, Storm what are you and your friends doing here in Heimdall?" the elder asked as they began to walk to his house where the rest of the group was waiting.

"Well, you see I have to know about this prophecy that Kvar was talking about, I guess that he and his master want me dead so the prophecy can't come true. We didn't really know who else would know about so I decided we should start. You said that you knew some things about me the last time I came here, I'm ready to know what you know," Storm replied.

"Ah, well come on inside, your friend Yuan is here already," the elder said as he granted entrance into his house for the group.

They all say down around the elder who prepared to tell his story.

"There is a prophecy from long ago, although it isn't too long for Kratos and Yuan, it goes back about 3000 years. This prophecy says that there will be a great battle for Derris Kharlan. On one side will be a dark angel full of hatred and revenge. If this angel gains control of Derris Kharlan a terrible age of darkness will reign over the world. On the other side is the angel of light, full of love and hope. If this angel gains control of Derris Kharlan an age of prosperity will reign over the world. The two angels will wage a great war for Derris Kharlan and there is only one determiner of who will win. The reincarnate of Spiritua will awaken inside one of the angels and they will become full of power. This power will allow one side to defeat the other.

I suppose that whoever Kvar's master is believes that they are one of the angels. They must also believe that Storm is the other angel. This makes sense considering how Storm is an angel even without a Cruxis Crystal. Storm is likely the reincarnate of Spiritua and has not fully awakened yet. Storm, I have actually traced your family history and it seems that on your mother's side was a relative of Spiritua. Putting this and the fact that your father is an angel may contribute to the fact that you have become an angel. Your angel powers also affected your ability to use elven magic, making you appear to be part elf, or a half elf when you are truly human. This 'master' must believe that if they kill you off, you will not be able to gain control of Derris Kharlan and they will thus gain control of it by default," the elder explained.

This was a lot of information for the group to take in all at once and Storm especially was taken by surprise at the news of her background. To her though, it was just another weird aspect of her life to add to her list. She was though surprised at the fact that she was somehow related to Spirtua, the first Chosen, often called the angel of death. Although it wasn't an impressive title, Spiritua was an impressive figure in both worlds. Storm was also a little surprised that she was possibly the reincarnate of Spiritua. She didn't feel like there was someone else inside of her, she felt like herself.

"So, if Storm's my sister, why aren't I an angel?" Lloyd asked.

"Well, you were...temporarily. The fact that Storm is the reincarnate of Spiritua would make it easier for her to stay an angel for longer, I also have the feeling that she hasn't even discovered all of her powers yet. Lloyd, you may only get little moments of being an angel, you'll never be an angel like Storm or your father," the elder replied.

"The fact that she hasn't discovered all her powers, that would explain the weird power she exhibited back at the ranch then?" Raine asked.

"Yes, she's only discovered the powers that Mithos himself taught her, the rest she'll have to discover on her own. I have a feeling that you'll pull it off just fine though Storm," the elder replied.

"Well, I believe that we should rest here for the night and allow all this information to settle in," Kratos suggested.

"That's a good idea, you're all free to stay at the inn for the night," the elder offered.

"Thanks," Storm replied.

"We'll decide what our next plan of action is in the morning," Raine said.

"Yes, you know I never really expected this reunion to result in a new quest," Regal said.

And with their plans set, the group split up and prepared for the night. Storm and Zelos went off on their own for awhile. They went over to a secluded area of the village close to the entrance to the forest where Lloyd and Kratos had once fought. They sat next to each other on an old log and stared up at the bright sky. They looked at the sky in silence, both of them unable to express what was going on in their minds. Finally, Zelos looked over at Storm and put his hand on top of hers. She looked over at him and smiled when she saw the loving look in his eyes

"I was really worried about you today, I was afraid that something terrible happened to you. I would have never been able to forgive myself," Zelos said as he stroked her cheek.

"You dork, I can handle Kvar fine on my own, don't ever blame yourself if something happens," Storm said as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I love you Storm," Zelos finally said after a few moments of silence.

"I love you too Zelos," Storm replied.

The two sat there for a long time, in their silence a million words were passed between the two. Zelos finally stood up and he and Storm walked back to the inn. He kissed her good night as they went to their separate rooms.

Kratos was also looking up at the sky that night wondering what he should do about his daughter. He didn't want to risk losing her again but he knew she wouldn't want this 'master' to gain control of Derris Kharlan.

"So, have you decided if you're going to tell her about...you know," Yuan asked from behind Kratos.

Kratos knew Yuan was talking about the information he had heard from Mithos before he was killed. The fact that Storm's internal clock would stop in another year was a fact that he had yet to explain to his daughter. "I haven't told her yet and I really wish I didn't have to tell her at all," Kratos replied.

"You know, if you hide it, she's bound to find out eventually. When she does find out she'll be hurt and upset that her own father wouldn't even tell her the truth," Yuan advised Kratos.

"I know, but I just feel horrible that she should have this curse that we have acquired. The worst part isn't that it's going to happen, it's that she never had a choice in the matter. We chose to be like this and live forever, Storm never got that choice. That's what kills me," Kratos told Yuan.

"I know. I wish that there was a way she could avoid living forever, it is truly unbearable," Yuan replied.

"Yes, but her only ways out are to be murdered or to commit suicide, that's it. Otherwise, she'll continue living and she'll have to watch everyone she cares about die around her while she remians eighteen for eternity," Kratos said.

"Well, whenever you do decide to tell her, which is soon I hope, please make it easy on her," Yuan told him as he left.

" I wish that it was that easy," Kratos said to himself as he got up to return to the inn.

On his way back to the inn, Kratos spotted Lloyd looking at the stars (A/N it's obvious that it is a common interest that Kratos has instilled into his children to look at the stars)

"Lloyd, you should really be heading back, it may be a long day tomorrow," Kratos advised his son.

"Sorry, I was just thinking how terrible it must have been for Storm to be attacked in the middle of the night," Lloyd said.

"Unfortunately, she's used to being woken up by attacks late at night," Kratos replied sadly.

"Why?" Lloyd asked as Kratos sat down next to him.

"Well, being one of the few humans on Derris Kharlan, she posed a threat to the half-elves in Cruxis. She was often attacked at night by half-elves involved in Cruxis who wanted to kill her off. I soon began to sleep in her room, in a chair to protect her from any attackers. Soon, enough she was old enough to protect herself, and not long after that she began to lose her humanity, causing her to stop sleep," Kratos explained.

"That's horrible. Her life has always been full of danger and fighting then?" Lloyd asked.

"Unfortunately, yes. When Mithos began to train her, that's what her entire life revolved around," Kratos explained.

"That explains why she is so uptight about some things and that she's always serious in battle," Lloyd replied.

"Probably," Kratos replied.

Lloyd sat in silence for a while before Kratos got up and began to walk back to the inn, letting his son think in peace.

That's it for this chapter, was the prophecy stupid. I really hope not. There will be a fight in the next chapter. But who will they all fight against. Someone new? Or maybe it will be Kvar again. Who knows? Maybe it will be the master we've all been waiting for. Guess you'll have to read to find out. Anyway, you all know what to do. If you want me to respond to your emails either log in or type in your email. Thanks.


	7. Chapter 7: The Master

1Yay, I'm finally getting around to the next chapter on this story, and with the time I've spent with Christmas I've managed to come up with some ideas on how this story can go. Anyway, here comes the next chapter and I hope everyone enjoys it.

Chapter 7: The Master

Storm was getting herself ready but she wasn't really looking forward to what she knew would be another sleepless night. Between the constant dreams she was having and the attacks at night she wasn't really thrilled with the thought of sleep. She laid down on the bed and she began to let her mind wander about everything she had learned that day. Could she really be a reincarnate of Spiritua? If she wasn't though and this angel of darkness was, then she would be getting into a fight that she couldn't possibly win. What would she do if she got into battle and this angel of darkness was the true reincarnate?

Storm's thoughts were disrupted when she heard a very soft noise coming outside. Her angel senses allowed her to barely hear someone or something making its way towards the building from outside. Storm wasn't about to take any chances this time and decided instead to grab her sword and climb out of bed. She ruffled up the covers to make it appear as if she were still in her bed as she crawled along the floor until she was sitting below the window. She listened very carefully and was able to hear the sound of someone's breathing from right above her. She heard them move as if they were about to strike. She tensed herself up, ready to strike whoever it was back.

All of a sudden, the attacker broke through the glass and leapt for the bed. Storm, though, caught a hold of the person by the foot and she threw all of her weight against them as she slammed them into the wall. She held her sword up against the attacker's throat as she pushed them up against the wall.

"Where is your master?" Storm asked.

All the attacker, who appeared to be a Desian, did in response was point to outside the window where Storm could see a dark figure standing. But, even more than the person in more than the person on the dark, she noticed the person's eyes. She took a moment but soon recognized them as the eyes from her dream. Could this be the very person her dream had been trying to warn her about?

While Storm was looking at the dark figure in the night, the Desian kicked her in the stomach and made a break for it. Storm decided to face this master head on, in the hopes of ending the battle right away. She ran to the hole in her wall but her pursuit was cut short when someone tackled her from the side. She looked over and Forcystus was standing next to her. He took his large metal arm and slammed Storm back into the room she came from. Storm, gathered herself from the floor and was about to go after Forcystus when the door from the hallway opened, revealing Genis who was next door. Storm got up and prepared to try another attack but Genis tried his best to hold her back. He threw his arms around her and struggled to calm her down.

"Storm, wait until Lloyd and Kratos get here," Genis advised but Storm threw him off and, revealing her wings flew out of the room and after Forcystus.

Storm was just about to attack Forcystus head-on when another attacker knocked her off course. She looked over and saw Magnius standing next to her. She looked carefully and also saw Kvar. Forcystus, Kvar, and Magnius were all alive and well but they also were all equipped with their own set of angel wings. Storm took to the skies as she attempted to out fly her pursuers. She had all three of them on her tail when she decided to fly down to the ground and used her Outburst attack the second she made contact with the ground. This attack knocked all three of them to the ground. When they were on the ground, she used her Death Eater attack on Magnius and Kvar who landed closest to her.

Kratos and Lloyd arrived to the battle scene and Kratos flew over to help Storm defend off the three cardinals. Kratos and Kvar began to fight and Magnius and Lloyd began to fight. Lloyd was at a disadvantage as Magnius flew above him, but Lloyd managed to strike him when he came down lower by using his Rising Falcon attack.

Storm was trying to help her brother defend Magnius when she was hit from behind by a mana blast from Forcystus. She was knocked backwards into a tree, but got up quickly as she became full of rage. She began to chant and attacked him back with her Angel Feathers attack. She flew over to Kvar, Lloyd was managing fine against Magnius, and she attacked him with her Thunder Arrow attack. Kratos managed to create a large gash on Kvar's arm as his sword made contact. Suddenly, Storm heard an attack that made her heart stop.

"Sacred powers, cast light upon these corrupted souls, give up while you can. Judgement," a voice rang out through the heat of the battle.

The sky grew black and rays of light began to rain down upon the village of Heimdall. Storm, Lloyd, and Kratos were all hit by the powerful blasts. Storm managed to pull herself off the ground, but was soon surrounded by Kvar, Magnius, and Kvar. Kvar sliced her with his sword in the arm, Magnius attacked her in the stomach, and Forcystus used a blast of mana to knock her into the wall of a nearby building. The impact of her contact with the wall sent her thorugh the entire building as she came through the other side. Suddenly, Storm was picked up off the ground by her throat. Her entire supply of air was cut off as she saw the eyes of the dark figure pick her up. They moved into the light and Storm saw the master of the cardinals, Pronyma.

"You know it's a shame that I have to kill you, you really are such a great fighter. You really could have done great things for Cruxis, but you're only human I guess," Pronyma said.

"P..Pronyma?" Storm choked.

"The one and only, my dear. You know, when you fight someone you really should make sure that they are dead. I know, a stupid little mistake right? Unfortunately, this one will cost you your life," Pronyma said as she prepared to finish Storm off. Suddenly, Pronyma was hit in the side of the head by Colette's chakram, giving Storm a chance to kick off from Pronyma and she flew away from her grasp.

"Why you little..." Pronyma said as she began to make her way towards Colette.

Storm flew back at Pronyma and the two began to fly higher and higher in the air as they continued to fight. Storm hit Pronyma with her Death Eater attack, but Pronyma also attacked with her Aggarasium attack. This back and forth fighting continued until Pronyma finally flew away from Storm and summoned the other three to follow her.

"You win this round, but I'll be back for your head, and my revenge," Pronyma said as she flew off into the night.

Storm gently floated back down to the ground where she immediately collapsed to the ground from exhaution.

"She's never been that strong before," Storm panted.

The others helped her, Kratos, and Lloyd all return to the inn where they rested for the rest of the night.

"Damn, she's still too strong for us to handle. We have to kill her before the war starts or there is no way that we will ever win," Pronyma said.

"But you saw how tough she was, she was able to hold off all of us," Kvar said.

"Yes, but that's only because her family and friends helped her out," Pronyma replied.

Pronyma stood in silence for awhile as she began to concoct a plan. Finally she looked as though she had a thought.

"Forcystus, you said that you heard that Kratos has yet to tell his daughter of her eternal fate?" Pronyma asked.

"Yes, he seems very hesitant to tell her," Forcystus replied.

"Good, well I have a plan that will cause Storm to wish to die at my hands," Pronyma announced.

"How's that?" Magnius asked.

"We'll kill off the only person that keeps her alive as it is," Pronyma said.

"Wait, she doesn't really seem to need any help taking care of herself," Kvar said.

"Yes, but I know Storm's personality like the back of my hand. I know that the only reason that she doesn't kill herself now is because of the love for her father. If we kill off Kratos, Storm will wish to die and I will have my revenge," Pronyma said.

Well, that's it here. We got the master, the plan, and a fight. Wow! That's a lot of info. Well, next chapter, Pronyma's plan will begin to take effect. There will probably not be any fight scene. Will her plans succeed? I don't know. Review me please!


	8. Chapter 8: The Importance of Trust

1Okay, I know you are all probably pulling your hair out by now so I'm sorry I haven't updated I have been at work all day (7:30-5:30) I'm tired but I have decided to try my best to update. Please don't kill me. Here goes.

Chapter 8: The Importance of Trust

Storm woke up in a bed at the inn feeling sore in every place imaginable. She was feeling stiff all over and when she moved to get up she felt the pain of fresh wounds flow through her body. Despite her pain, she got out of the bed with the plan to go out and try to find Pronyma and stop her before it was too late. She managed to sneak out of her room and down the hallway. She didn't want anyone to see her because she knew none of them would let her leave the inn in the shape she was in. She managed to tiptoe her way to the door, she put her hand on the doorknob, but just as she was about to pull the door open a hand pushed on the door, keeping it shut. She looked at the person who was keeping her locked in the inn and saw that it was none other than her father.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kratos asked.

"I was just going to get some fresh air, that's all," Storm said casually.

"I don't think so. If I know you well enough, and I think I do, you were planning on finding Pronyma," Kratos replied.

"Maybe..." Storm said as she looked at the ground sheepishly.

"You shouldn't go looking for a fight now," Kratos advised.

"Yeah Storm, you got yourself beat up pretty good out there," Lloyd said as he flashed a stupid grin.

Storm shot him a death glare. "Shut up Lloyd, I didn't see you beating the crap out of everyone eitther,"Storm replied.

"He's right though, in the condition all of us are in at the moment we shouldn't be out asking for trouble," Kratos replied.

"Okay Dad," Storm said as they began to walk toward the lobby. While Kratos' back was turned Storm shot a mana burst at Lloyd and hit him in the back of the head.

"Hey!" Lloyd shouted as he turned around, holding the back of his head.

"What?" Storm questioned as she continued to follow Kratos out of the room.

Later that day, after the group had relaxed awhile and let their bodies rest Storm and Zelos went outside for a walk. Zelos was given the job to keep Storm's mind off of Pronyma for the day so she wouldn't run off to find her. They were walking along the forest of Heimdall when suddenly they heard someone in the trees. The two looked up and saw Pronyma sitting up in one of the trees.

"Pronyma!" Storm yelled as she sent Zelos to find the others. Zelos was reluctant at first to leave Storm to fend for herself.

"Don't worry hunny, I'm not here to fight you, not today at least. I'm still licking the wounds from yesterday, I'm sure you are as well. I was just curious. How long are you planning on living your pointless life?" Pronyma asked.

By this time the rest of the group had made their way to the scene that was unfolding.

"What are you talking about?" Storm asked.

"Well, if you don't die now are you really planning on living forever? You don't seem like the type that would enjoy an eternal life," Pronyma replied.

"What are you babbling on about?" Storm persisted.

"You mean your father hasn't told you yet?" Pronyma asked, shocked at what she was hearing. She already knew Kratos had kept it a secret but after years of working for Cruxis she was very skilled at lying.

"Told me what?" Storm demanded.

"That Mithos discovered that you would live forever," Pronyma announced.

"What!" the entire group replied.

"That's right. When Storm hits the age of eighteen her internal clock will stop permanently, causing her to live forever," Pronyma replied.

"But, Dad would have told me...," Storm started.

"Pronyma, stop this madness now!" Kratos demanded.

"I'm not the one in the wrong here Kratos, you are. You hid this from your daughter for a long time now, and you were planning on hiding it from her for a long time weren't you," Pronyma yelled.

"Is that true Dad? Have you been hiding it from me?" Storm asked.

"Well, I...," Kratos was speechless.

"It's true Storm, he's known since before Mithos was killed, yet he failed to tell you something that was your own business to begin with. I just thought I would ask you how you were planning on using that life should you win this war, but I guess you haven't had the time to think of that," Pronyma said as she flew away.

Storm was facing away from the group and she had tears forming in her eyes, daring to flow down her cheeks. She looked down at a necklace that wasaround her neck. She looked at the gold necklace and remembered back to when she received it.

_It was Storm's seventeenth birthday, the first that her and her father had truly spent together for many years. They had just recently settled back into Derris Kharlan. _

_"Here you go Storm, I hope you like it," Kratos said as he held out a small box to his daughter._

_Storm took the box carefully and opened it to reveal the gold necklace, at the bottom of the necklace was a moon and star charm. Storm loved to look at the night sky and she immediately fell in love with the necklace._

_Kratos took the necklace and placed it around her neck. "When you wear this necklace you can take comfort in knowing that no matter how far away you are from someone you love, as long as you look up at the night sky, you can be sure that they will always be looking up at the same sky and thinking of you," Kratos said. "Your mother always used to tell you and Lloyd that when you were little."_

_"Thank you Dad," Storm said as she wrapped her arms around him._

_"Remember, you can always trust in me, I'll always be there for you," Kratos said._

She looked down at the necklace, thinking of the broken trust now between them. She unhooked the necklace from behind her neck . She walked over to Kratos and took his hand. She opened his hand and placed her necklaceit, then closed his fingers around it as she ran back towards the inn.

"Dad, she'll forgive you," Lloyd said.

"Let me alone to think for awhile everyone," Kratos replied as he walked into the forest.

Once he got deep enough into the forest he sat down under a tree and stared at the necklace. The tears began to flow down his face as he thought about the trust he had just broken. He knew Storm had a hard time trusting people and now he knew the one person she relied on the most had just let her down. He felt so horrible inside. Unfortunately, Kratos didn't notice that he was being surrounded by Kvar, Magnius, Forcystus, and all their men. Once he finally looked up he realized what was going on but it was far too late for him to escape. Pronyma jumped off her perch from above as she walked toward the seraph.

"Kratos, what are you doing here, and all by yourself," Pronyma said as the large group closed in on him.

Well, that's it for here, I hope that you liked it. Next, we find out what happens to Kratos, oh no. Will Pronyma succeed? Who knows, she actually might! Review for me please!


	9. Chapter 9: Alone

1Okay, for all of you who are about to pass out on me from suspense I have been trying my best to work on this story. So, I won't waste anymore time, thanks to all who reviewed, I appreciate it. One thing, if Potato Puff is still reading I'm wondering what happened to you, I miss you. Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews.

Chapter 9: Alone

Storm ran into her room at the inn and slammed the door behind her as she collapsed on the bed. She was feeling very hurt and betrayed by what her father had done. She couldn't believe that the one person she felt she could truly trust in her life had let her down. She hated Pronyma so much, but she couldn't help but feel that everything she had said was true. She sat there for awhile by herself until she heard someone softly knock on her door. She was afraid it was her father at first and cautiously asked, "Who is it?"

"It's me..." said Lloyd through the door. "Can I talk with you?"

"Come on in Lloyd," Storm answered.

Lloyd carefully opened the door and saw Storm sitting at the bed. She looked up at him and he could tell that she was still very upset about what had happened earlier. He sat down on the bed beside her. He felt that he might be the right person to talk to Storm. He felt that since it was an issue between her and their father that he was the perfect peacemaker.

"So, did Dad send you?" Storm asked without looking up from the floor.

"No, he went off on his own to think when you ran off. He hasn't come back yet. You know Storm, I think that he really feels bad about what he did. But, you know he's still only human and he makes mistakes too. I think he only did what he thought was best for you," Lloyd said.

"Yeah, well what he knew concerned me and my own life. He should have told me," Storm replied.

"Probably, but put yourself in his spot. He's had to deal with a life like yours for 4000 years but he chose to have it that way, you had no choice. He probably felt that it was unfair for you and he had a hard time getting it out. I'm sure he meant to tell you eventually," Lloyd said.

Storm thought about what Lloyd said for awhile and she looked up at her brother and smiled. She gave him a big hug and got off the bed. "You know, sometimes you just know the right things to say," Storm said before she left the room.

"Thanks," Lloyd said as he rubbed the back of his head with a blush on his face.

"Just remember I said, 'sometimes,'" Storm called as she left the room, leaving Lloyd confused at the point she was trying to get across to him.

Storm was wandering through the forest. It was getting dark and was beginning to rain. She was getting concerned, it wasn't like her father to stay out in weather like this. She was looking all over for Kratos, calling out his name as she searched high and low.

"Dad, I'm not mad, please come out," Storm called.

There was no response as Storm continued to call. She was about to go back to the inn to see if he had returned when something caught her eye. She looked down and hanging on a small root on the side of a tall cliff hung her necklace. Also on the root was a piece of Kratos' purple mercenary outfit that had been torn off. She reached down and picked up the two objects and looked hard at them. By this time, she was completely soaked from the rain and she looked out over the cliff and screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Daddy!"

There was no response, she looked down at the necklace and she realized what must have happened. She fell to her knees as she let her tears fall freely down her face as they mixed with the rain. "No...daddy, you can't leave me...I need you," she cried .

"I'm worried about Storm and Kratos, they aren't back yet and it's been pouring, maybe we should go out and look for them," Lloyd said as he turned away from the window.

Zelos got up and looked through the window and soon after turned around quicky. "Here comes Storm, she's back!"

Storm entered the inn, and walked past the entire group. Lloyd and Zelos immediately noticed that there was something seriously wrong with Storm. She was holding something tightly, next to her chest as she walked across the room. She was soaked and her eyes held a vacant and terrified look. She was pale and she looked into the distance, completely ignoring the fact that anyone else was even there at all. She stopped, facing away from the rest of the group, and stood there for a few moments before Lloyd and Zelos walked up behind her.

"Storm, what's wrong, and where's Dad?" Lloyd asked.

Storm stayed silent.

"Storm, please talk to us," Zelos added.

Suddenly, Storm's legs collapsed as she fell to the ground. Zelos caught her and held her up from under her arms. She didn't even attempt to hold herself up as Zelos maintained his hold on her.

"What's wrong, please tell us," Lloyd said as he walked in front of her.

"He...he's gone," Storm said as she held out the necklace and purple piece of fabric and offered it to Lloyd. Lloyd grabbed it and stared hard at it.

Zelos, who was shocked at what Storm had just said finally lost his strength as he and Storm fell to the ground and Storm began to weep uncontrollably. She buried her face in her hands and Zelos held her close to him and tried his best to comfort her. Lloyd remained silent as he continued to stare at the small piece of fabric. By this time the rest of the group came over to Storm to try and comfort her. She was crying so hard that she was beginning to have a hard time breathing. Lloyd finally sat on the ground and began to cry for the loss of his father. Sheena and Genis, seeing their friend in distress walked over to him and offered a shoulder to cry on. They all stayed there for a long time, until Storm finally cried herself to sleep.

"Our chances of winning this war are now very slim. Pronyma knows exactly what she's doing," the elder said sadly to himself as he looked at Storm surrounded by her friends.

Storm was woken up in the middle of the night by someone knocking on her window. She looked out and saw Forcystus standing outside. She was in no mood to fight and opened her window. "What is it?" she said, her throat hoarse from all the crying she had done.

"Pronyma would like to speak with you, it's not a trap and she won't battle you unless you provoke something," he replied as he flew off.

Storm thought about what he had said and decided to follow him as she flew behind him. When she landed she saw Pronyma come out of the forest.

"Well, well, well, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. It breaks my heart, it really does. I'm here to offer you a chance to ease all the pain and suffering in your heart. I can do you the favor of ending your life. If you allow me to kill you, then you can finally rest in peace. Otherwise, you'll only live in pain for eternity, constantly reminded of the pain of losing your father. You'll watch others that you love die around you until, finally, you'll be all alone. Is that what you really want?" Pronyma suggested.

"No, I don't want to be alone, I don't want to have anyone else die. I don't want to live without my father," Storm replied.

"Well, come back here tomorrow and decide if that's what you really want, if you do, I will end your pain and suffering, if not then we will continue this stupid fight and you can continue your pathetic eternal existence," Pronyma replied as she flew off.

"End the pain and suffering? I'll do it. I can't live without my Dad. He's so much a part of me, that without him I'm already dead," Storm said to herself as she flew back to the inn.

Okay, I know some of you may have suffered heart failure during that so I'm sorry. I was definitely crying during that. Of course, the story isn't over yet, someone has to talk some sense into this grief stricken girl. Please review and don't kill me or you won't find out what happens.


	10. Chapter 10: Giving Up

1Well, everyone is either sad, angry, or dead from the last chapter so hopefully you are all still reading this. Please don't hate me but things aren't too happy in this chapter...I think. Read and enjoy!

Chapter 10: Giving Up

Zelos walked into Storm's room the next morning in an attempt to comfort her, seeing as how Lloyd was still shook up from it himself. He walked and saw Storm looking down at her necklace as she sat on the end of the bed. Storm didn't make a move to look at Zelos when he walked over to the bed and sat down next to her.

"Storm, you have to talk to someone eventually, please talk to me," Zelos said to Storm.

Storm stayed silent as she slowly lifted her head but continued to stare at the wall across from her. Zelos looked at her and saw that she was still pale and her eyes were red from crying and a lack of sleep. She hadn't eaten anything all day and didn't come out of her room at all. Zelos wrapped his arms around her as she buried her face in his chest and began to cry once more.

"It's okay...I understand, just let it all out," Zelos said as he rubbed her back as she continued to cry.

"Why did he leave me? He left me all alone. He was so much a part of me. I just wish that I could end all of this pain," Storm cried.

"That's no way to talk Storm. Kratos wouldn't have wanted you to act like this, he would have wanted you to live your life for you and him," Zelos replied.

"You don't understand," Storm said as she lifted her head up to look at Zelos. "Without my Dad, I have no life. I'm already dead on the inside, the only thing left is to hurry and join him and my mother."

"Storm! Listen to yourself. What are you talking about? You should never give up that easily! Who put those ideas in your head," Zelos demanded.

"It doesn't matter because I know what I'm going to do and nothing you or anyone says is going to stop me, it's too late for that now," Storm said as she pulled herself from Zelos' grip andran out of the room and left the inn, running past the entire group into the night.

"Where is she going this late?" Raine asked as Zelos ran into the lobby.

"I think she's about to hurt herself, or worse!" Zelos replied as the entire group got up and went for the door to track down Storm.

_Nothing matters anymore, I just want to end all the pain, everything else is meaningless. I have to find Pronyma, I can't live for an eternity without my father. It all ends tonight, Storm thought as she ran through the forest, searching for Pronyma._

Kratos woke up bruised and bloody on the forest floor as he tried to recall what had just happened. He remembered Storm becoming upset with him, being surrounded Pronyma and her troops, fighting them, and falling off a cliff. After that though, he had no idea what happened. Apparently, he survived his long fall off the cliff and he had been knocked out for at least a day. He searched for Storm's necklace and was concerned when he couldn't find it. He decided that the best thing for him to do was to find his way back to the inn to rest up and apologize to Storm.

He got up on shaky legs and began to walk back in the direction of the village. He thought back to his encounter with Pronyma.

_He looked around him as he was surrounded by Pronyma's troops. There were at least thirty Desians and Kvar, Magnius, and Forcystus also joined her. He looked for a way out but all of his exits were blocked._

_"With you out of the way Kratos, your daughter will be so easy to defeat and Derris Kharlan will be mine," Pronyma said as she ordered her troops to attack. _

_Kratos tried his best to fight off the soldiers but he was quickly overwhelmed and was backed up to the cliff and he was pushed off. He was too weak to pull out his angel wings as he plummeted to the ground._

"I hope Storm is okay," Kratos said to himself as he continued to walk through the forest.

Lloyd was running through the forest, desperately searching for his sister. If he failed to find her and something horrible happened he would never be able to forgive himself. He couldn't help Kratos and now he wouldn't be able to help Storm. He would be the only one left in his family and he couldn't stand the thought of losing his little sister.

Suddenly, he heard someone moving through the brush. Lloyd drew his two swords and ducked behind a tree as he looked to see who was approaching. He hoped it was Storm but he was even more excited when he saw Kratos walking through the woods.

"Dad!" Lloyd yelled as he ran to Kratos and gave him a huge hug.

Kratos took a couple steps backwards, shocked at his son's sudden display of emotion.

"What's wrong? Why are you acting so happy?" Kratos asked.

"Well, duh. We all thought that you were dead. Storm went looking for you last night and she came back with part of your cape and her necklace that she found by a cliff. She's actually taking it pretty hard. I can't believe that you're alive! This is great! You have to hurry and come with me," Lloyd said as he grabbed Kratos' arm and began to drag him through the forest.

"Lloyd, the inn is this way," Kratos said pointing in the opposite direction.

"I know, but we're not going there, we're going to save Storm," Lloyd said as he continued to pull on Kratos.

Kratos made Lloyd stop when he said that. "Why do we need to save her? What has happened?" he asked.

"She ran off talking like she was going to kill herself. I told you she took your death pretty hard," Lloyd replied.

"Pronyma..." Kratos muttered to himself as he began to run with Lloyd to find Storm.

_Storm, why did you let Pronyma talk you into something like this. I can't believe that you would care about me that much if I died, especially after everything I've done to you. Please hang on, I'm coming, Kratos thought as he continued to search the immense forest._

"Storm, I'm guessing that you have made your decision?" Pronyma asked as Storm walked into the small clearing she came to the day before.

"Yes, please end the pain for me," Storm replied as she knelt down in front of Pronyma.

"My pleasure, but I think that there is still a little pain left to come. I need a little payback for what you did to me before, then I'll help you," Pronyma replied. "You shouldn't really care anyway, a few minutes of pain for an eternity of peace with your family.

Storm stayed silent and only looked at the ground as Pronyma flew down to her and landed right in front of her. Pronyma kicked Storm sending her across the small field and into a tree. Storm slowly pulled herself off the ground as Pronyma walked over to her and slapped her hard with her hand, knocking Storm back to the ground. Still, Storm's face held no emotion or pain at all as her eyes continued to look hollow and vacant. Pronyma picked her up by her throat and lifted her off the ground, throwing her into another tree. Finally, she had Kvar and Forcystus drag her back into the middle of the field. Pronyma drew out a sword as she prepared for the final attack.

"Leave her alone Pronyma," Kratos yelled as he and Lloyd ran over to where Pronyma was at.

"Kratos! But how? I saw you fall off that cliff," Pronyma replied, shocked at what she was seeing.

"Perhaps you should check to see if the people you kill are actually dead," Kratos smirked.

Storm lifted her head and stared at her father in confusion. At first she wasn't sure if what she was seeing was real or if she was only imagining him. "Daddy?" Storm asked.

"Yes, it's me. I'm okay Storm, you can come back now. Please forgive me for what I did to you," Kratos replied.

Storm smiled as she realized she was seeing her father alive and well. Pronyma drew herself away from Kratos' return and noticed that Storm was still kneeling in front of her and that she wasn't paying any attention. Pronyma took her sword and drew it directly into Storm's stomach. Storm let out a loud scream of pain as blood began to pour from the wound.

"This is what she wanted Kratos, she wanted to die at my hands and it's all because of you, remember that!" Pronyma said as she flew away when she heard the rest of the group coming after hearing Storm's cries of pain.

Kratos ran over to Storm who was clutching her stomach and she began to buckle over from the pain. She began to breath heavily as Kratos ran over to her side. She looked up at her father and smiled at him as he held her closely. As she closed her eyes she heard him say something to Lloyd.

"Get the professor, Pronyma also put poison on this sword,"

Well, that's it. Kratos is alive. YAY! Would I actually kill him off? No way, I love him. Anyway, now we have to worry about Storm. If anyone hasn't noticed, the group hasn't even left Heimdall yet, so in case anyone was wondering where they were. Please review and tell me what you thought.


	11. Chapter 11: Keep Fighting

1All right, sorry I took so long to update but it's finally here, you may all breathe now. Just to let everyone know, Storm is knocked out cold and everything below is a dream she is having. Is it real or not? Keep reading and you'll find out what I'm talking about. If you haven't noticed yet, Storm's very sensitive to her dreams, probably because she never used to sleep. She has a lot of time where she sleeps now so she has a lot of strange dreams. Enjoy!

Chapter 11: Keep Fighting

_Storm looked around and saw nothing but white everywhere. She couldn't figure out where she was, but she did know that she was all alone. She could remember what had just happened and looked down at where she was stabbed and saw the wound still there, but she felt no pain and there was no bleeding. Suddenly, she heard a very faint voice calling her name in the distance. She looked up to find the source. There was a person walking towards her, but she couldn't make out the person's face. The person finally came within a few feet of Storm and stood in front of her. Storm looked at the woman in front of her and couldn't believe her eyes. Right in front of her was her mother._

_"Mom? Is that really you?" Storm asked, not daring to move, afraid that the person in front of her might disappear like an illusion._

_"Yes Storm, it's me. I'm not an illusion, this is truly me," she said as she smiled at Storm. _

_"But, how can you be alive?" Storm asked._

_"I'm not. Right now you're right on the border where the living and the dead meet. You're dying right now," Anna replied._

_"I'm...dying?" Storm asked._

_"Yes, but you don't have to. If you give up you will, but if you fight through this you can still live. It's still up to you and you alone," her mother replied._

_"I don't know if I want to live. An eternity is a long time to live and I've finally realized that I really have no life to live. I thought I belonged once when I was with Cruxis, but soon I realized that what I was doing was wrong. With Cruxis gone, I have nothing," Storm said._

_"That's not true, you have your family and friends and they are all counting on you to be strong and fight," Anna replied._

_"They don't need me, they were able to fight before," Storm replied as she looked down at the ground._

_"This is different Storm. Without you, Pronyma will rule Derris Kharlan and everyone's dreams will be worthless. Can you imagine what she would do to your brother and father? You can't allow something like that to happen to the ones you love. If you die, you'll be killing all of them as well. Don't let that happen," Anna replied as she lifted Storm's chin to look into her eyes. "You look so much like your father, but you have my eyes," she added and smiled at her._

_Storm thought over her options for a few moments then finally decided what was to be done. She looked at her mother._

_"I'll fight this and I will defeat Pronyma," Storm replied._

_"That's my girl. Don't forget, if you ever need me, I'll be right here," Anna said as she pointed to Storm's heart. "Fight for the two of us. Have hope."_

_"Thanks Mom," Storm said as she turned to leave._

_"Oh, Storm," Anna called. Storm looked behind her at her mother. "Tell your father I'm not mad at him and that I love him. And...I love you and Lloyd...so much," Anna said softly._

_"I love you too Mom," Storm replied as she left to fight off the poison that was consuming her body._

"I think we're losing her," Raine said as she continued to try and cure Storm of the poison. "Her fever has gotten worse and her heart is racing."

"She just has to make it. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something happened to her," Kratos replied as knelt down beside Storm on the bed and grabbed her hand. He put his hand up to her forehead and reeled his hand back when he felt how hot she was.

"I will kill Pronyma if my sister dies. I can't believe I let that happen," Lloyd yelled as he threw his fist into the wall out of anger.

"Calm down Lloyd, she may still survive this," Sheena tried to comfort the swordsman and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Zelos was sitting on the side of the bed opposite Raine and Kratos and was silently praying to anyone who would listen. He wasn't sure who to pray to ever since Cruxis wasdestroyed, but he really hoped that whoever was up there was able to hear him.

A few minutes later, Raine noticed that Storm's fever had gone down significantly. She was beginning to relax and it seemed that she was going to pull through the whole ordeal. Soon, Storm's eyes fluttered as she looked around and saw that she was surrounded by her family and friends. Everyone was so happy to see Storm responsive and, well, alive.

"What's wrong? Do I have something on my face?" Storm asked, wondering why everyone was staring so intently at her.

"She's okay, thank Martel, she's alive!" Raine cheered as everyone gathered around her and began to hug her. Storm was beginning to get uncomfortable as her friends began to pile on top of her. Once they all got off of her, they all decided to leave her and Kratos alone for a well deserved reunion. Once everyone had left, Storm looked over at her father who was actually smiling.

"Dad, you won't believe it but I saw Mom, she talked to me, if it wasn't for her I don't think I would be here now," Storm said.

"Storm, you were dreaming, you had such a high fever you were probably a little delusional," Kratos said as he brushed some hair out of her eyes. (strange for someone who always has hair in his face, right?)

"No Dad, I really did see her," she replied.

"Sure you did," Kratos replied as he gave her a large hug. "I'll send Zelos in, I think he wants to see you."

While she was wrapped in his arms she said to Kratos, "She told me to tell you that she isn't mad at you and that she loves you. She said I look a lot like you except that I have her eyes."

Kratos pulled Storm away from the hug and looked at her,unable to believethat Storm would know something like that. It was something that Anna always used to say about Storm when she was little. "You do," he replied as he got up and left the room to get Zelos.

_Did she really see Anna? There is no way that she would have known to say something like that. To say something that Anna would have said. Anna..., Kratos thought._

Soon, Zelos entered Storm's room, and sat on the bed next to her. He looked at her with loving eyes and held her hand.

"Zelos, I'm sorry for how I acted before. I was a real jerk," Storm said.

"It's okay, I can understand how you felt, I'm just glad that everything worked out for you," Zelos replied as he stroked his hand along her cheek.

Storm put her hand behind his neck and pulled him into a kiss. This kiss was different than the one they shared before. This kiss was a lot more passionate and it lasted a lot longer. She wrapped both arms around his neck and she pulled him closer to her. She lost herself in that kiss and she wanted to be with him forever. She never wanted that moment to end. Suddenly, she heard her father walking back to the room and she broke the kiss.

"Okay, we really don't want my dad to catch us doing that," Storm said.

"Yeah, I don't need an overprotective father chasing me. Believe me, it's happened before, but none of them can compare to Kratos," Zelos replied.

Kratos entered the room and the elf elder was with him along with the rest of the team.

"I see you had a close call Storm. Remember, you may be the only thing between Pronyma and control of Derris Kharlan. Take one more night to recover here, but I believe that you should head to Meltokio," the elder said.

"But, I want to find Pronyma first," Storm protested.

"I don't think so," Kratos replied. Storm returned his response with a pout.

"I think you should stay away from Pronyma for awhile. Until then, head to Meltokio and go to the Church of Martel. In there is a secret room, a room unknown to even the church officials. This is the room where Spiritua stayed before her Journey of Regeneration began. Maybe if you go in there, something will clue us all into whether or not you are truly one of the angels. You must keep this room a secret and cannot let anyone else know about it, do you understand?" the elder said.

"Yep, we'll go there and find out all we can," Lloyd replied.

"A room full of undiscovered items? Things from centuries ago? I must study all of it! This is wonderful!" Raine yelled as she ran out of the room to begin packing.

"Will she be all right?" the elder asked.

"Yeah, she always acts like that," Lloyd replied as Genis buried his face in his hands out of embarrassment.

"Storm, one more thing. Have you always hated Pronyma?" the elder asked.

"Well, the first time I met her, the little hairs on the back of my neck stuck up and I felt a chill run down my spine. I was scared to go with her and I never really wanted her to train me," Storm replied with a matter-of-fact tone.

"I see...and has she always hated you?" he asked.

"Well, she always told me I was better off dead and she routinely beat the crap out of me. Does that count?" she replied sarcastically, not knowing why the elder would ask her something like that.

"Then it is likely that you two are truly the angels from the prophecy," he said.

"Why's that?" Sheena asked.

"Well, it's told that from birth, it is instilled in the two angels to want to destroy the other. They never search for each other, but once they meet each other this desire is realized. You killed her once and now she wants to kill you," the elder replied.

"I guess that's true. She never really had a reason to hate me and I never had a reason to hate her...initially," Storm replied.

"Well, either way, you had best get some rest and prepare for the journey ahead," the elder replied as he led the rest of the group out of her room and Storm went back to sleep as she felt the rest of her strength beginning to return to her.

Well, that's it, they will be going to Meltokio next. It should be exciting. This chapter was probably my favorite to write. In that Storm and Zelos scene, I will say that they were sharing a very intimate kiss. Anyway, please read and review!


	12. Chapter 12: Meltokio

1Okay, I'm glad that everyone enjoyed the last chapter. Now, I think I'll bring the drama down a bit and have a bit of humor. I'm not very good at humor so bear with me. Anyway, the church will wait till the next chapter. I think that they are all just going to relax in Meltokio for the day after all of the fighting which could result in some odd experiences. Anyway, please enjoy and Happy New Year!

Chapter 12: Meltokio

The group left Heimdall for Meltokio the next day on the Rheihards. When they got there, they all decided to head for Zelos' mansion to decide what to do next. As they walked the streets of Meltokio, the began to notice people stopping in the streets and staring at them.

"Why are they all staring at us?" Lloyd asked as he glanced around nervously.

"I really don't know, but I got this kind of reaction when I first arrived back and told the story about our journey," Zelos said.

"People actually know about everything that went on?" Storm asked.

"Yeah, didn't you know that? People all over Symphonia know about our group," Genis replied, shocked that both Storm and Kratos hadno idea that their quest was famous already.

"Great, another legend that I'm going to be in," Kratos muttered under his breath.

They continued to walk down the streets when they noticed that people were beginning to follow them in what was becoming a small mob. Suddenly, they heard someone yell out over the crowd.

"That IS them! It's the heroes of Symphonia!"

The large group, especially all the women in the group, began to scream as they ran like a stampede toward the terrified members of the team. Lloyd and the others began to run away from the mad group of people, but soon hit a dead end and they were surrounded by screaming fans.

"Lloyd! Oh my Martel, it's actually Lloyd Irving, and look I'm touching him!" were just a few of the cries women began to scream as they surrounded the swordsman.

Zelos was soon swamped with women who all wanted a piece of the red-head. Storm noticed this and made her way over towards him.

"Zelos, would you go on a date with me? I love you so much," one girl shouted as she tried to get her hands on the ex-Chosen.

Storm stepped in between the woman and Zelos and gave her best death glare. "Excuse me, but he's already spoken for. If I were you I'd leave now because if you touch him you, won't be able to stand on your legs for weeks. Oh, and that's not a bluff!" Storm said angrily.

"Who are you to threaten me!" the woman demanded.

"Back off hunny, don't push me," Storm replied.

"Try me," the woman threatened.

"Bring it on, but don't go crying for your mommy when I thrash you," Storm said as she prepared to knock the woman back with a blast of mana.

Zelos pulled her back quickly and tried his best to prevent anyone from getting injured by Storm. "Storm, relax. I wouldn't go out with any of them. I wouldn't even dream of doing that because I have you," Zelos said as he turned Storm away from the woman.

Storm looked over and saw that her father was being swarmed by a herd of fangirls. (I was probably in the mix somewhere) Kratos had no idea how to deal with all the women who were all fawning over him. Storm knew how to take care of the problem quickly as she walked through the large crowd and came over towards the women.

"Hey! That's just weird! You are not going out with my father! What! Do you actually think that you want to be me and Lloyd's stepmother? No, even if you did, I wouldn't allow it. So get lost, all of you!" Storm yelled to the group of women.

Suddenly, Storm was surrounded by a large group of men who only wanted a piece of her. She began to really get angry as she felt a couple of them touch her in places she was not comfortable with.

"Hey you jerk! Get off of me!" Storm yelled at whoever was touching her in the mob.

"Come on baby, you know you like it," one of the men replied.

That was the last straw for Storm as she decided to take care of the whole pesky group by using her Outburst attack to knock them all away. She walked away as she saw that all the men who lying on the ground in pain. She walked over to Zelos and grabbed his hand.

"You know, you're really scary when you're jealous," he said.

"When someone pisses me off I feel as if they need to learn their lesson," Storm replied.

After fighting their way through the rest of Meltokio they finally managed to make it to Zelos' mansion after the Papal Knights (now good guys) came to break up the mob. Once inside, the group decided that the rest of the day would be devoted to relaxation since none of them really wanted to venture out onto the streets again. Zelos and Storm; however, decided to take advantage of the opportunity to be alone and decided to venture back into downtown Meltokio. Zelos knew all of the secret ways around the town, and where a lot of the less congested areas were, so he decided to take Storm around the town.

They got out and went on what you could probably consider their first date. Zelos took Storm to a very exclusive and expensive restaurant where he knew that they could be alone. They enjoyed each other's company for a long time and for the first time in her life, Storm felt truly happy. She felt that whenever she was with Zelos she could be herself and that she was actually carefree.

After they left the restaurant, they walked down the streets of Meltokio as the crowds began to go back for the night. Unfortunately, there was someone else following the couple who would break the peace they were enjoying.

"Storm..." a voice behind the couple said as they turned around.

Behind them was Forcystus and he looked different than before. He didn't look as if he came to fight, in fact it didn't even seem as if he was sent by someone else.

"Forcystus? What are you doing here?" Storm asked.

"Now, is that anyway to greet me after all the years we've been together? You know, I don't recall you ever acting like that with me," he said as he pointed to Zelos.

"That's because I hated your guts, and I never wanted to be with you," Storm replied.

"What is he talking about?" Zelos asked.

"You didn't even tell him about us?" Forcystus asked, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"That's because there never was any, 'us,' Forcystus. We were just a couple that Mithos forced together," she replied.

"You can say that, but I think that there was more to it than that," Forcystus replied.

"Well, you were dreaming about that then, because I sure as hell don't remember there being anything else there," Storm replied.

"You two used to go out together?" Zelos asked.

"Not just go out, we were engaged," Forcystus replied.

"What! Does your father know about this? Zelos asked.

"No, and I don't think it's really important that he finds out about things that never happened anyway. Mithos wanted to pair me up with someone. Me, because I was unique and I was powerful. He put me with this loser because he was a Desian hero. I guess he thought he could have more little fighters that he could raise. It's kind of disgusting if you think about it," Storm replied.

"Oh come on, I think that it's a great idea," Forcystus replied as he came over and placed a hand on Storm's shoulder causing Storm to reel back in disgust as if she would get a rare disease from him.

"Don't touch her!" Zelos threatened Forcystus as hebacked away from Storm.

"Why didn't you ever tell me about this," Zelos asked.

"Well, because I was embarrassed about something I forced into doing. Besides, you haven't told me about all the relationships you've had, and quite frankly I don't care to hear about them all. Don't worry about it, nothing happened between us and nothing ever will," Storm replied.

"Fine, but don't come crawling back to me when you are getting beaten by Pronyma, I could have saved you," Forcystus said as he walked away from the couple.

Storm, looked down at the ground at the ground and began to tear up. She tried to hide her emotions from Zelos but he lifted her chin up and gazed into her eyes.

"Hey, what did I tell you about your emotions? If you feel like crying, then go ahead and cry all you want," Zelos said as he wiped the tears from her face. "I'm not too worried about what happened between you guys, it's all right."

Storm buried her face in his chest and she began to cry as she remembered the horrible times she had had with Forcystus back in Cruxis. Zelos gently rubbed her back and let her release all of her emotion.

The couple arrived back at Zelos' mansion very late that night and walked in after everyone else had gone to bed. Zelos had Storm sit down on the couch in the parlor as he went to get her some hot chocolate so the two could talk a little before going to bed themselves. Zelos came back and sat next to her on the couch. The two sat in silence for a while before Zelos finally broke the tension.

"Storm, I have to tell you something," Storm looked up at him as he looked at the wall ahead of him, not daring to look her in the eyes, "Since I've met you, I've changed so much. My life once held no worth, no purpose. You made me realize that no matter how horrible life seems that there are also so many good things as well. Without you, I wouldn't be here today. You've allowed me to become the kind of person that I've always hidden under my mask. And for all of that, I thank you. Storm, what I'm trying to say is that you mean so much to me that I really want to be with you forever. I love you so much," Zelos said.

"Zelos...," Storm whispered, "You have no idea what you've done for me. When I was away from you, I felt as if I was missing a part of myself. Thanks to you I've learned that it is okay to let out my emotions, instead of always hiding them behind my own mask. Zelos, I love you too and I want to be with you, and only you," Storm replied.

Zelos looked into her eyes which were filling up with tears. They weren't the tears of sadness that he had seen so many times. These were tears of happiness and a smile spread over her face as she wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him on top of her as she laid on the couch. Storm pulled Zelos even closer as she kissed him passionately on the lips. Soon, though Storm broke the kiss as she decided to finally get up to bed before her father came looking for her. The two still weren't ready to tell Kratos about their relationship.

Zelos walked Storm up to her room and they began to kiss again at the door, but Storm finally pulled herself away from him as she walked into her room. That night, Storm actually slept straight through the night, free of any nightmares.

Well, that's the Storm/Zelos a lot of people have been begging me for. I hope it was okay, and I know that my humor kind of sucks but everyone will get over that eventually right? Okay, please read and review.


	13. Chapter 13: Something There

1Well, I'm glad that everyone is becoming more accepting of Storm and Zelos' relationship. I am looking for ideas for the plot because I want this story to be longer but I'm running low on inspiration. Thanks for all of your reviews and I hope that you like this chapter.

Chapter 13:Something There

Storm got up early the next morning and was ready to go to the church to see if she was really Spiritua's reincarnate. She was anxious to see if something would spark a past memory or something like that. She ran down to the kitchen to see that her father was way ahead of her and had already finished breakfast for the group.

"Hey Dad," Storm said cheerfully as she walked into the kitchen.

Kratos turned around and saw the huge smile spread across her face. "Storm, what's got you so happy this morning?" he asked, surprised by her overwhelming joy.

"Oh...I'm just excited to go and see the church today. I want to see if I'll remember something or get a new power or something," Storm replied.

"Well, don't get your hopes up too much. Now, would you please get your lazy excuse for a brother out of bed," Kratos said as Storm grabbed a piece of toast and went to wake up her brother.

"Hey lazy! Dad says to wake up!" Storm yelled as she walked into Lloyd's room. Lloyd didn't even attempt to get up, instead he nestled himself even deeper under the covers.

"Hey! I said get up or I'm gonna eat all the food that Dad cooked," Storm said as she began to walk toward the door challengingly.

Lloyd sprang out of bed at this comment and ran for the door. Storm decided it would be fun to race him down the stairs. They flew down the hallway, barely avoiding hitting the rest of their friends. They ran down the stairs and were neck and neck. Suddenly, at the last step Storm gained the lead when she tripped Lloyd and sent him flying across the room and sliding in the opposite direction of the kitchen. Storm sat herself in one of the chairs and began to fix herself a plate, grinning proudly at her victory.

Soon, Lloyd walked in the kitchen with a death glare on his face. "You tripped me on purpose!" he yelled as Storm kept eating.

"It's not my fault my feet were there and that you were clumsy," Storm explained.

"That's not what happened and I can tell by the look on your face," Lloyd said.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Storm replied.

Lloyd mumbled under his breath as he placed himself at the table across from Storm,while Kratos placed a plate full of food in front of him. Soon, Zelos came down along with the rest of the group and they all took their places at the table. Zelos was sitting next to Lloyd along with Genis and Regal, soon followed by Kratos. Sheena, Presea, Raine, and Colette all sat on the other side of the table with Storm.

"That was pretty fun last night huh Storm? Especially when...," he was cut off when he heard Lloyd yell out in pain next to him. "What's wrong with you?" he asked.

"She kicked me," he replied, pointing at Storm who was glancing nervously at her plate. She had tried to kick Zelos before he said anything that her father would catch on to, but had accidently kicked her brother instead.

"You two really need to stop it, I'm starting to get a headache from listening to you," Kratos said as he held his hand to his forehead.

"Well, you missed out on a lot ofarguements over the years," Storm replied.

Later that day, the group left for the church. After they gained entrance they looked all over to find anything that looked as if it would open into a secret room. Storm was able to find the entrance by tapping on all the walls and using her sensitive angel hearing to hear a place where the walls were thinner. After finding the door, hidden under some wallpaper they went inside the dark and dusty room.

The room didn't seem to have been touched for a very long time and the group was a little hesitant to walk in at first. Raine was the first to rush in as she started to rummage through everything in sight. She looked at all the old books and pictures all over the place. Storm began to walk through the room and looked at what appeared to be a journal. Storm opened the dusty journal and opened it to the last page that was written on.

_I am about to leave on this ridiculous journey. I can't believe that I have to be the one who has to go on it. I know that I will die when I complete the journey. But, if I don't go on it, the people of this world will kill me from disappointment. I really have no choice, I have no life. I must be going, my companions are here._

_Spiritua_

Storm couldn't believe it. Not even Spiritua had wanted to become the Chosen. Zelos and Colette were not alone in their feelings. She wondered what it felt like to know that there was nothing but death in one's future. It made her happy to know that Lloyd had been able to break that horrible cycle.

"This is simply amazing, everything here is full of so much history," Raine exclaimed as she continued to search through the piles of old books.

"So Storm, anything here seem familiar to you?" Lloyd asked as he walked up to her.

"Nothing yet," she replied as she looked at a pile in the corner. Suddenly, Storm felt really dizzy and she was unable to focus on anything in the room. She felt a sharp pain in her head and her legs buckled from under her as she became sick. Kratos and Zelos rushed to her and picked her up, carrying her out of the room.

Once they were outside of the room, they set her down on a couch. She began to feel better almost immediately after they took her out. She got up and was able to stand up and she felt no pain or sickness wash over her.

"What happened?" Sheena asked.

"I don't know, I just felt sick all of a sudden. It felt like something was overwhelming me," she replied.

"Maybe it's like the elder said and something was awakened within you," Lloyd suggested.

"Maybe, but I feel better now whatever it was," Storm replied.

"Well, I think we've seen enough. Let's patch up the door so no one can find it," Kratos said.

"No way! There are too many amazing things in there that need to be discovered," Raine protested.

"Raine, we promised the elder we wouldn't let anyone know about it," Genis said.

"Fine, but I won't help you patch up that wallpaper," she said as she sat down on the couch.

Later that night, the group was getting ready for bed. Kratos decided to go out for a few hours to get away from the group for a while. After the rest of the group headed upstairs, Zelos and Storm decided to spend some quality time together. Not too long after they started to (pretty much make out, nothing more than that) the front door opened and Kratos walked in. He had only decided to walk around the block instead of going farther. He walked in on the two as Storm was lying on the couch with Zelos on top and they were kissing very intensly. Storm saw her father and immediately sat up, hoping he didn't see anything. Unfortunately, he saw enough.

"Daddy, what are you doing back so soon?" Storm squeaked out.

"I decided to come back earlier, I'm glad that I did. How long has this been going on?" Kratos asked pointing at the two.

"What are you talking about?" Storm asked trying to play dumb.

"Storm, you know damn well what I'm talking about!" Kratos yelled, with anger growing in his voice.

"Oh, Zelos and I? Uh, awhile," she replied.

"And when were you planning on telling me about it?" he asked.

"Um...eventually," she replied.

"You weren't were you," Kratos replied, "You know you shouldn't hide things from me."

"Why not! You were hiding things from me too," Storm shot back.

"This is not the same," Kratos yelled, "I was only doing what I thought was best for you."

Storm had shooed Zelos away by this point and they were now alone to sort the matter out. Zelos only prayed that Storm would be able to soothe her father.

"This is what is best for me!" Storm replied. "Daddy, I love him."

Kratos was taken back by her last statement, but more than that, the emotions behind it.

"Did it get any farther than this?" Kratos asked.

"No, we haven't done anything like what you're thinking. Daddy, I'm not your little girl anymore. If Pronyma and I are going to fight, I need to do it on my own. You can't always be there for me. I think that I'm old enough to handle a relationship. Please Dad, let me be happy. Zelos has taught me to let out my emotions instead of always hiding them. Without him, I'd still be a lifeless little angel," Storm said.

Kratos sat in silence for a while, thinking about what he should do. He looked at his daughter, really looked at what she had become. She was no longer a little girl, she was now a woman and she could save the world one day. If she didn't survive the war, he at least wanted her to be happy before. He couldn't say no as he looked into the eyes of his daughter. She was a woman now, and he had to let her go.

"Fine, just don't get hurt. Don't do anything stupid. But, from now on I think it would be good if we didn't hide anything from each other," Kratos said.

"Thank you so much Daddy, I knew that you would understand," Storm said as she ran over and hugged her father. He could really tell that she had opened up a lot lately and he was happy to see her like she should be, full of emotions, her emotions.

Storm went to bed with a happy heart, knowing that Zelos and her didn't have to hide their emotions any more and could finally be an accepted couple.

Well, that's it for this chapter. When you read the part where Storm and Kratos are fighting, they really are yelling at each other. In fact, I wouldn't have been surprised if everyone in the house could hear them. I hope you liked it and there will be a little more suspense in the next chapters. Remember, if anyone has any ideas for plot please send me a message by using my profile page. Anything that involves a evil plot with Forcystus would be good. Or something with Storm and Zelos. Thanks and please review as always!


	14. Chapter 14: Something's Wrong

1Okay, thanks to everyone who has reviewed and a big thanks to everyone who has given suggestions! Also, I want to thank everyone who has ever reviewed this story. I hit 100 reviews today and I wouldn't have been able to do that without your support. Thanks just don't seem to be enough for all you guys do. But, thank you! Well, here's the next chapter.

Chapter 14: Something's Wrong

Kratos walked into the room where Zelos was hiding after he escaped the fight that took place between Storm and her father. Kratos walked in and sat down on a chair in the corner, waiting for Zelos to react. Zelos finally sat in a chair on another side of the room. Kratos looked up at him resting his head on his hands. He looked at Zelos as if he were searching for any sort of imperfection in him. Finally, Kratos broke the tension in the room.

"So, Storm really seems to want to be with you," he began.

"Yeah, and I really want to be with her," Zelos replied.

Storm was sitting in her room as strange thoughts began to race through her mind. She suddenly had the desire to go out and search for Pronyma. She knew her father wouldn't let her go and fight her yet, but for some reason she felt as if she couldn't control it. She had to destroy Pronyma, even if it destroyed her. She was about to sneak out the window, when suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her head. It was the same pain that she had experienced back at the church. The room began to spin around her like it had before. Another familiar sensation swept over her as she felt her stomach begin to do flips and it felt as if someone was twisting her stomach into knots. Her legs began to get shaky and she decided to make her way to where he father was. She felt like she had back when she was stuck in bed from the poison before.

"I know what you're like Zelos, and I don't want you to hurt my daughter," Kratos said threateningly.

"I would never try to hurt Storm. It's because of her that I was able to break away from the worthless life I once had," Zelos replied defensively, not for himself but rather Storm.

"I trust you Zelos, don't forget that. But remember, if you ever hurt her, I will hurt you. She's been hurt in too many ways already in her life," Kratos said.

"I wouldn't worry if I were you," Zelos replied.

Suddenly, the door to the room opened and Storm stumbled in and clung to the back of a sofa to hold herself up. She was pale and looked awful. She looked at her father and managed to say, "Daddy...I don't feel very well," before she fainted on the floor.

Zelos and Kratos rushed over to her and carried her to her room and Zelos ran to get Raine. Kratos looked at his daughter and tried to figure out what was wrong with her. Raine rushed in soon afterwards as she tried to diagnose her illness. At first, they wondered if it was what had happened earlier at the church. But then Raine began to notice that she had the same symptoms that she had when she was poisoned. She couldn't picture why the poison would be coming back again. Storm's temperature was rising quickly and she opened her eyes, only to cry out in pain. She held onto her stomach complaining that both it and her head felt as if they were going to rupture. There wasn't much Raine could do to help with the poison. The others decided to return to bed for the night when Kratos volunteered to watch over her that night.

Late that night Storm woke up with the strong desire to kill Pronyma returning to her. She noticed that Kratos had drifted to sleep and she decided to sneak out of the window. She stumbled out of bed, still affected by the poison. When she reached the ground she began to walk through Meltokio, towards the entrance. She was barely walking and her head and stomach were still in considerable pain. She stopped to get her breath for a few seconds and continued on. She was almost to the exit when Kratos ran in front of her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Storm?" he asked.

"I'm going to find Pronyma," Storm replied as she continued to walk.

"Like hell you are. Where did you get a stupid idea like that? Look at yourself, you are in no condition to fight, let alone travel all over the place, you could die," Kratos replied.

"I have to, I don't know why but Ihave to go find Pronyma, I have to destroy her, no matter what," Storm replied.

"I don't think so young lady," Kratos replied as he picked her up and carried an uncooperative Storm back to the mansion. He set her back into the bed and began to watch over her again. Storm finally gave up and decided to go back to sleep. She figured once Kratos went back to sleep she could sneak out again.

Early the next morning, Storm would not wake up no matter how hard Kratos tried. She was so weak from the effects of the poison that she had blacked out again. Kratos left the room to get Raine. When he had left the room, someone else slipped in through the window and took Storm out. Raine and Kratos walked in a few seconds later and realized that Storm was gone again. At first, Kratos thought that she had run away again, but he saw someone carrying Storm, flying in the distance. He looked and noticed that Forcystus had taken her captive. Before Kratos could react, Forcystus disappeared behind the city walls. Kratos called Lloyd and Zelos and told them that they would have to save Storm.

When Storm woke up she noticed that she was no longer at the mansion. She looked around and saw Forcystus standing on the other side of the room. Storm still felt weak and in pain and didn't even try to get off the bed.

"Why did you bring me here?" Storm asked.

"Well...if you were thinking that it's because Pronyma asked me, that's not it at all. Storm, ever since we were engaged to be married I have always loved you. You're so beautiful, powerful, and intelligent. You may be a human, but you are really one of us," he replied.

"Wait a minute, there's no way that I'm going to marry you, we already went over this. I love Zelos," Storm replied.

"Why do you want Zelos? You know that he'll only hurt you, he's been with so many other women, what makes you different from them. He'd never appreciate you," Forcystus replied.

"That's not true, he said he wanted to be with me forever," Storm replied.

"How many other women do you think he's said that to," Forcystus replied.

Storm began to wonder if what Forcystus said was right. She began to think about what the half-elf told her and began to wonder if Zelos was really to be trusted. She wanted to but she couldn't ignore his past. Forcystus seemed to really love her and had always tried to get Storm to become friends with him in the past, maybe he was sincere. Then again, maybe it was the fever reasoning with her.

Well, that's it for this chapter, I'm sorry if it was too short but I was short on time, next chapter may not be a happy one for Storm and Zelos. Please review, pretty please. Suggestions are welcome..


	15. Chapter 15: Doubts

1Okay, I know that everyone is probably really confused as to what's going on with Forcystus but hopefully I'll be able to help clear things up with the plot. Anyway, thanks for all the support and the reviews and I hope that everyone enjoys the next chapter.

Chapter 15: Doubts

"You can't trust him Storm, I've seen him with another woman in town this week," Forcystus said.

"What? He wouldn't do something like that!" Storm replied.

"You think I'm lying about this? I know what I saw, she was a girl around your age. She had black hair and wore a lavender colored outfit from Mizuho," he explained.

"It couldn't be...Sheena?" Storm thought out loud.

"I don't know what her name was but they were walking around Meltokio the other day. They went out for lunch, went shopping, and had a really good time," Forcystus replied.

"But, why would he?" Storm asked.

"He's just that way Storm. Can't you see, he uses women and then leaves them. That's the way he's always been and he hasn't changed," he replied.

"He has always flirted with Sheena, I guess it could be possible," Storm replied. She did recall him and Sheena going out for a while together the other day, but she hadn't thought anything of it, after all, they were all good friends.

"It's true, now come with me and I'll never hurt you like he did," Forcystus replied.

"I...I don't know. I think I need to think this over a little bit," Storm replied as she struggled to get out of bed.

"That's no problem, I know that you will figure out the truth. When you do you can rest assured that I will be here for you," he replied as he let her stumble out the door.

Once she had left the room, he sat upon the bed and stared at the wall and laughed to himself. "As if I'd really fall in love with a pathetic human, especially the daughter of Kratos. If only she knew that my true passion lies with Pronyma. She'll never survive an attack from Pronyma with that poison in her body. That poison I put on Pronyma's sword won't kill her, but the pain of Zelos' betrayal and the weakness the poison causes in her body will."

Storm reached the mansion in a short amount of time and was greeted by Raine, Genis, Regal, and Presea. The others had gone out to look for her.

"Storm! You're all right, the others are out looking for you right now. Your father is so worried!" Raine exclaimed. "Hurry, come back to bed, you still haven't recovered from the poison."

"Thanks Raine, I think I'll lie down for a while, please tell me when my dad returns," she said as she made her way upstairs.

Her entire body felt weak. She felt as if she could not even move any part of her body and it was a miracle she was able to make it from place to place. She laid on the bed, her head aching, and began to think about what she was going to do. Should she believe Forcystus? Did Zelos really betray her? She wasn't sure what to believe.

Soon, she heard the door open, and not long after, her father rushed in the room, excited to find her unharmed. "Storm, how did you manage to get away from him?" her father asked as he knelt down to her at the bed.

"It wasn't too hard, he just kind of let me go," she replied.

"What? Why would he do that?" Kratos asked, confused by the Cardinal's action.

"I'm not sure...," Storm lied.

"Well, anyway, I'm glad that you're all right and I hope that nothing like that will happen, after all you're still sick from the poison," he replied.

"Yeah, so I've heard," she replied.

He reached over and gave her a small hug and left the room. Storm stared at the ceiling for a while and began to think about Zelos again. She wasn't able to get him out of her head. Soon, the door opened and Zelos walked in. She glanced over and stared at him, hoping that she could answer all of her questions just by looking at him. He came over and wrapped her in a large hug. Storm didn't return the embrace but allowed him to hug her. He pulled himself off of her and stared at her as if she was someone he had never met before.

"What's the matter? You're not acting like yourself," Zelos asked.

"I don't know, maybe it's the poison, I don't really feel like myself," she replied lifelessly.

"Well, you should rest up, you've had a hard day. I'm just so relieved that you're okay," he said to her as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but if you don't mind, I'm really tired and I think that I should get some sleep. Or, better yet, have Genis send up some food," she replied.

Zelos pulled his hand back, not knowing how to react to Storm's actions. He looked at her and nodded before heading out the door.

Storm wanted so badly to let out all of her emotions and ask all of her questions, but she knew that if she asked, she may not be able to handle the truth. She decided it best to hold onto her emotions until she found out the truth for herself. Soon, Genis brought up a bowl of soup. After he left, she looked at the bowl of soup, and suddenly felt as if she wasn't hungry. She decided to try and eat it anyway before it got cold. She lifted it to her lips and drank some of the soup. After she drank all the soup, she felt as if she wasn't able to hold it in as she rushed to the bathroom. She looked up at the mirror and saw her pale face in the mirror. Her eyes, usually full of life and energy, were listless and hollow. "What's happening to me?" she asked herself as she sank to the floor of the bathroom to hold her pounding head.

Well, that's it for here. I hope I cleared some things up, but was still able to keep up the suspense. I didn't want to reveal everything so I hope I didn't. Oh, and the last paragraph, is that the poison or is there more to it? I don't know! Keep reading and please review the story.


	16. Chapter 16: Feeling Weak Inside

1Okay, I have definitely stumped the band, so to speak. Everyone has completely different opinions on what's happening. The truth about Storm's condition will be revealed in a few chapters, but as far as Zelos and Storm's relationship, that issue will not be settled till later. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews and I hope that this story is good. Thanks!

Chapter 16: Feeling Weak Inside

It had been about two days since Storm escaped from Forcystus. The poison's effect had become weak enough that she was able to get out of bed, but she was in no way able to fight. She had, on several attempts, tried to sneak out of the house in the middle of the night, with no success. Kratos was guarding Storm very closely. She didn't know why, but she couldn't help herself. She knew she was weak and would never be able to fight Pronyma without being killed, but some uncontrollable force was causing her to want to try anyway. She couldn't fight that desire no matter how hard she tried, so she had stopped trying and let her father catch her.

Storm had grown accustomed to new and strange eating habits. She really had no desire to eat anything and when she did feel hungry, she was only able to eat a few bites at every meal. She really tried to eat more to please everyone at the table. All of her friends, and especially her father, were constantly concerned about her sudden loss of appetite. Her appearance had taken a turn for the worst in just a few days. She was pale as a ghost, and had become so thin from her appetite loss that Kratos was afraid that he would crush her by hugging her. But the worst change in her appearance was the lack of life and spirit in her eyes. She looked vacant and rarely expressed any emotion in her speech.

Storm had been staying in her room alone most of the day. She was sitting on her bed and was feeling very depressed. She wanted to cry so badly, but instead she swallowed back the tears, which caused her headache to return. She finally decided to head downstairs and stare out of the window for awhile to try and get the image of Zelos and Sheena out of her head for about the hundredth time that day. When she went downstairs, she sat on the chair facing the window and placed her head in hands to try and think over her options once again. Was Forcystus really one to be trusted? Was Zelos?

Suddenly, she had the feeling that someone was behind her and when she turned around, she saw Sheena standing directly behind her chair. Sheena had an expression of concern for her friend.

"What do you want?" Storm asked coldly.

"I was just wondering how you were feeling," Sheena replied.

"I'm fine, but I don't need your sympathy," Storm replied while staring back out the window.

"What's wrong?" Sheena asked.

"Nothing. How was your day with Zelos the other day?" Storm asked.

"Is that what your problem? Are you jealous that we were together?" Sheena asked.

"No, you can hang out with him all you want," Storm replied. She really didn't care if Sheena and Zelos hung out together, but the thought of him getting close to her made her upset.

"You know, you don't look very well, maybe you should head upstairs. I'll help you," Sheena offered as she grabbed onto Storm's arm.

Storm jerked her arm away from Sheena and glared at her. "I don't need your help or your concern. Just let me be, I'm perfectly fine," she said as she stormed out of the room.

"What did I do?" Sheena asked herself once Storm had left.

That night at dinner, Storm was unable to eat anything at all. Her father looked over at her and waited for her to begin eating before he would begin. Storm stared down at her food, disgusted with the thought of having to eat it at all. She slowly picked up the fork and placed a bite of food in her mouth. On the way down, it felt as if it was going to get caught in her throat and suffocate her to death. She finally managed to get the first bite down. Once she had managed to eat at least half of her plate, satisfying her father. Afterwards, she excused herself, rushing to the bathroom. The feeling that the food was not going to stay down returned to her again. She was getting used to the feeling of not being able to eat, when she was in Cruxis she never ate, but she thought that all of that was behind her. She couldn't tell her father what was happening, she couldn't even accept it herself.

She returned to bed for the night, but was unable to fall asleep for about five hours. When she did finally fall asleep, it only a half-sleep. She was aware of everything that was going on around her and was sleeping at the same time. She did not fall into a deep enough sleep to dream at all that night, and she feared she would never dream again. She felt like she was dying inside, she had no life, no hope and she felt as if she was slipping away. Zelos was truly the core of her being, without him she was dead. She wanted to fall asleep and to never wake up. She knew in her heart, she was not strong enough to rule Derris Kharlan if she couldn't even take care of herself.

Kratos walked outside and opened up his communicator, revealing Yuan. It had been quite awhile since he had last seen his good friend.

"What's the matter Kratos, it sounds as if you're bringing bad news," Yuan asked.

"It's Storm, you should come over here and help me try and figure out what's wrong with her," Kratos replied.

"What makes you think that there is something wrong with her?" Yuan asked.

"Well, she isn't acting normal. Something's bothering her, and she won't tell me what. She won't eat, she has no emotions, and she's sick all of the time. I don't know how to help her and I want to," he replied.

"I'll come over and see if there is anything that I can do," Yuan agreed, apparently concerned for Storm.

Well, that's it for this chapter. Short, I know but I'm need an idea for a side quest, anyone have any ideas. I don't want to resolve this predicament right away. So, please tell me what you think. You can give me a message from my profile page. Also, please review.


	17. Chapter 17: Reverting Back

1All right, time for an update. This chapter has lots in it so be prepared. I don't really know what's going to be going on in the future, so after reading this because if I don't get any ideas, it may take a long time before I beat writer's block and update. So, here you go and enjoy.

Chapter 17: Reverting Back

Yuan arrived to Meltokio the next day. He walked in and was greeted enthusiastically by the entire group, all except for Storm who was in her room as usual. Yuan quickly noticed her absence and asked Kratos where she was. The only response he got from Kratos was a pained look in his eyes. Yuan immediately took that as a bad sign. Kratos looked at him and led him out of the room and led him to her room.

"Yuan, you know Storm almost as well as I do, perhaps you can find the source of her illness," Kratos said.

"I will try my best," Yuan replied as he opened the door and walked inside.

Storm was facing the window of room and was sitting on the bed. She heard the door open and didn't bother to look and see who had entered. She turned around after a few seconds and was shocked to see Yuan standing in her doorway. Instead of getting up to greet him she just gave him a half-smile, as if she was just using the gesture to please him. He noticed the bizarre behavior and walked over to her.

When he reached her, he could really tell how horrible she looked. She was thin and pale and seemed almost lifeless. She showed no sign of happiness or sadness, she just had a blank stare.

"Storm, it's been awhile. How have you been?" Yuan asked.

Storm just stared at him and responded quietly, "Fine."

Yuan had never seen her like this before. When she was in Cruxis, and Mithos was trying to transform her into a lifeless being, she still managed to show some sort of emotion in her face and in her speech. But now, there was nothing.

"Storm, what's wrong with you? I can tell that there's more to what's wrong with you than this stupid poison that I keep hearing about. Besides, if I know you well enough, I would know that you would be able to fight off poison," he said.

"There's nothing wrong, this is just how I am," Storm replied.

"Did something happen Storm? If something is bothering you, you need to tell someone. It doesn't have to be me, but you can't keep it inside forever. You'll kill yourself if you hold it in," Yuan said.

"Nothing happened Yuan," Storm replied. Yuan looked into her eyes and saw no emotion. But, somewhere inside he could tell that something was bothering her, something was tearing her up inside. She couldn't hide that from him.

"Well, if there is something that is bothering you, or that you're hiding, please tell someone. Promise me you won't hold it in, that you won't try and hide your problems. Promise me Storm," Yuan told her.

Storm stood in silence for a moment, thinking about what he said. Then, she replied, "I promise."

"Thank you," he said as he got up and headed for the door.

"Where are you going Yuan?" she asked.

"I'm going to go and find the antidote for that poison, then that will no longer be a bother to you," he replied as he walked out of the door.

Yuan walked downstairs and was greeted by Kratos who came searching for answers.

"So, what's wrong with Storm? Why is she acting so strange?" Kratos asked.

"I can't believe that you wouldn't be able to tell what is going on with her. Maybe it's because you're with her all the time and you can't see the changes as well as I can, but she looked horrible. She looked better when she was with Mithos and Cruxis. Something's bothering her and she doesn't want to tell anyone about it. Something obviously happened and, knowing Storm, she won't tell anyone that she's hurting from it. She's always been one to hide her pain from everyone. I think that her problem is causing her to revert back into what she was back in Cruxis. You say that she doesn't hardly eat or sleep and that she has no emotion? I would say that she is turning back into a lifeless being. It is possibly from holding in all of her emotions. So, what you need to do, is be a father and go in there and be the one that she can talk to without having to worry about you overreacting or anything. Whatever she says, take it gently and let her release all of her emotions. That's what needs to be done," Yuan replied.

"I want to help her, in whatever way I can," Kratos replied.

"Then go in there and help her," Yuan said as he headed towards the door.

"Where are you going now?" Kratos asked.

"I'm going to investigate an antidote for the poison, I suggest you all go out and try to find it as well," he replied as he left the house.

Kratos considered what Yuan had said and began to feel horrible that he wasn't able to find the cause of Storm's problems on his own. He walked up to her room and walked inside, sitting on her bed. She looked over at him and waited for whatever he was about to say. Kratos didn't really know how to go about this.

"Storm, will you tell me what's troubling you? Please, Storm I want to help you. It worries and pains me to see you like this," Kratos asked.

"I wish I could tell you Dad, but I just can't yet. Please give me more time," she replied.

Kratos didn't know how to respond to this answer. He wanted her to let out all of her emotions, but whatever it was she felt that she wasn't ready to let it out yet. He didn't want to force her to tell him. He wanted her to feel as if she could trust him and could confide in him to release her feelings and thoughts.

"Well, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'll be here," he said. "We're going to go out and try to find the antidote for the poison so get ready to leave soon," he added as he headed for the door.

"Pronyma, Storm is ill presently and is very weak. If you want to kill her, now would be the opportune time to do so," Forcystus reported to Pronyma.

"Perfect. Send out Kvar and a small army of Desians and kill her," Pronyma ordered.

Forcystus bowed, "Yes, Lady Pronyma," he said as he left to go and move out the troops.

Soon, the group was leaving Zelos' mansion so they could search for an antidote to the poison. They decided to take the Rhiehards to Flanoir to speak with the doctor there. Storm was coming out of the house for the first time in about a week. She was having a little difficulty walking to the Rheihards, but she let Kratos help lead her to them. They soon heard people screaming a little way down the road. The group stopped and decided to see what was going on in the town. They didn't get too far and saw a large group of Desian soldiers marching down the street, destroying anyone and anything that got in their way. At the front of the line was Kvar, leading the troops. They stopped when Kvar saw Storm.

"This will be too easy," he said when he saw the state that Storm was in. "Men, take the rest of the group, I will take Storm." The soldiers began their assault and charged at the small band. Lloyd, Kratos, and Zelos pulled out their swords and prepared to protect Stormat all costs. Storm pulled out her sword to defend herself and noticed that no one was coming after her. She went to aid the rest of her group when she was slammed into directly by Kvar, who had used a pair of angel wings to fly at, and tackle her. Storm slammed into a nearby wall. She tried to use her Outburst attack to knock him away from her, but the attack had little power in it and barely fazed him.

Lloyd and Kratos were distracted by a group of about twenty to thirty soldiers who had them surrounded. Kratos saw that Storm was in trouble and decided that both he and Lloyd needed to get away and help her. "Lloyd hang on. I have an idea, just draw the whole group as so close to us as you can," Kratos said.

"Whatever you say," Lloyd replied as he tried to coax the group close to the two of them.

Kratos began to prepare an attack, he let out his wings and grabbed Lloyd. He flew up out of the reach of the Desians who had completely surrounded them. When he flew up, he released Gravity Well, knocking out the entire group of Desians.

Storm was on the ground and was unable to get up. She could only stare at Kvar as he held up his sword to strike her down. "Say hello to your mother," he said as he threw down his sword.

Before his sword could make contact with Storm, Kvar was knocked forcefully into a nearby building by Lloyd. Kratos came over to Storm and helped her get off of the ground. This was the opportunity that Lloyd and Kratos had been waiting for. They had Kvar in a position that he couldn't run from. Lloyd and Kratos began to attack Kvar and finally after a few minutes of heavy sword fighting, Kvar fell to his knees and awaited his end.

"This is for my family and everything you've ever done to them," Kratos said angrily as he threw his sword into the Grand Cardinal.

"Don't mess with our family," Lloyd said as he threw his into him as well.

Kvar was on the verge of death and had a small amount of time left. He looked over at Storm and smiled at her. "I'm sorry to tell you Kratos, but your daughter will die soon enough, I am sure of it," Kvar said as he finally stopped breathing.

At the sight of their leader being killed, the rest of the Desians retreated and the group was left to head back to the mansion. Storm was a little beat up, but was still able to travel to Flanior. The rest of the group decided to head to the frozen city to see if the doctor there could find a cure for Storm's illness.

"Are you all right?" Kratos asked as Storm got on the Rheihard.

"Yes, I'm fine thanks to you and Lloyd. Thank you," she replied.

"Hey, no problem. There's no way that I'd let that jerk hurt you," Lloyd replied.

Storm gave a small smile at this remark. This time it wasn't fake. She smiled because she was reminded of the love that her family would always have for her. It was a love that could not be broken, a love that would never die. Unlike her relationship with Zelos, Storm could be confident that Lloyd and Kratos would always love and care for her, and she knew that she would always love and care for them. And it was because of this love that Storm actually felt a small amount of joy return to her heart.

Well, that's it for me. I guess the next chapter they will go in search for the antidote. Hopefully, they can find one cause Storm is too weak and I want her to fight again. Anyway, I might throw in a part with Forcystus, I don't know. Anyway, I hope that you liked this. Review. PS If you want a hint at what is going on read the fight between Kratos and Storm carefully in Chapter 13. The reasoning is in there, but that's all I'm saying.


	18. Chapter 18: The Truth

1Wow, I'm glad that I am able to update this so soon. Don't expect that too often from me though. Anyway, I'm glad that I made everyone happy when Kvar died. Anymore ideas from anyone would be helpful, otherwise I may have to end the story earlier than I want to. Oh well. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews and I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 18: The Truth

The group got on the Rheihards and began to head for Flanoir, with their hopes high. They were all certain that the doctor would have some sort of advice that could help cure Storm. Lloyd and Colette, Genis and Raine, Presea and Regal, Sheena and Zelos, and Storm and Kratos got on their Rheihards together and prepared to head out.

Not too long after flying, the group flew over a wooded area near Ozette. Storm suddenly began to feel very dizzy and her headache came back to her quickly and fiercely. She tried her best to hang on to her father as she felt herself lose balance. She soon lost her balance and fell off the Rheihard and plummeted to the forest floor. She tried her best to pull out her wings but she only managed to bring them out a few seconds before she hit the ground. She managed to slow herself down a little bit but still landed hard on the ground, and she blacked out.

_Storm looked around, she was in the forest but she saw a few other people she didn't recognize. She saw a small campsite and saw a young girl, who was about the same age as herself. She also saw two young boys. One had dark, black hair and he was sitting underneath a tree, cleaning his sword. The other boy looked like a half-elf with silver hair like Genis, but he was much older than Genis was. He had a staff placed next to him as he was napping underneath another tree. She wondered who these people were and what they were doing. _

_"All right, everyone get ready, we will be leaving shortly so we can get to the next seal," Storm turned around and was shocked at what she saw. She looked and saw Kratos standing at the other end of the camp._

_"Dad?" Storm asked._

_She got no response, not even a glance from her father and wondered how he knew these people and why he was talking about the Seals._

_"Come on Kratos, can't we stay here awhile?" the half-elf asked while opening only one eye to look at him._

_"No, if Spiritua is to regenerate the world then we must continue to move," Kratos replied._

_"Spiritua?" Storm asked as she looked over at the girl. "Is that Spiritua? Then, where or rather when am I?" she asked as she looked around._

_"We're coming Kratos, just hang on," Spiritua replied as she gathered up her stuff._

_The image left her and the next thing she saw was her vision from before. She was standing on the field, except this time she was all alone. There was a wall of fire on the other side of the field and a pair of eyes looked out through the fire. Then, the eyes came out and Pronyma emerged._

Storm woke up, bruised and sore, but fine otherwise. She managed to pull herself up. She looked around the area where she landed and realized that she was in the same place where Spiritua had been in her dream. The trees were still the same after all of those years. Storm suddenly had the strange impulse to find Pronyma once again and decided to make her way through the forest to find her. She was making her way through the forest when she heard a voice call behind her.

"Storm! Storm wait up, where are you going?" the voice called behind her. She quickened her pace and kept making her way through the thick forest.

"Storm stop!" she turned around when Zelos pulled on her arm and stopped her from continuing through the forest.

"Let me go! I have to find Pronyma!" she yelled at him as she yanked her arm away from him and began to move forward once again.

"Storm, what has been the matter with you lately?" he asked, his voice contained a hint of anger and sadness.

"Like you don't know Zelos," she yelled back as she stopped in her tracks, she had finally decided that this was the best time to tell him how she felt.

"No, I don't know. I don't know why you're acting like I've done something horrible. You act like you hate me," Zelos replied.

"I don't hate you, just what you've done," she shot back.

"What have I done?" he yelled back.

"Storm, I see you've finally made up your mind," Forcystus said as he walked into the conversation.

"What is he doing here? What is he talking about Storm?" Zelos asked.

"You don't have to answer him anymore, you can be free. You don't need to be hurt anymore," Forcystus said.

Storm wasn't about to let Forcystus talk her out of discovering the truth. She wanted to know everything from Zelos, no matter how much it hurt.

"I know about everything that you've been doing. You've been with Sheena all this time. You were out with her, you don't care about me anymore Zelos. You can't deny that you've been with her. He told me everything," she said.

"Storm, stop!" Forcystus yelled.

"What? You think I've been with Sheena? Why would I leave you, you mean too much to me," Zelos replied, bewildered by her accusation.

"Don't play dumb Zelos, I know that you and Sheena spent an entire afternoon together," Storm yelled back.

"Storm, I was out with Sheena because I knew that she was the girl in our group who knew you the best. She helped me pick out something special for you," Zelos replied.

"What? You mean, all this time..." Storm asked.

"You've had nothing to worry about this whole time," Zelos replied as he walked over to her and wrapped her up in a big hug. "You're the only girl for me, nothing will change that."

She returned the hug and tears began to well up in her eyes. She had never been so happy in her life. She felt so safe and warm in his arms, and she had nothing to worry about. He had been faithful to her and she felt so stupid for how she acted. She looked around, ready to find Forcystus and beat the crap out of him for all the lies he had fed to her, but she soon realized that he had made a run for it. She threw him out of her mind and returned her attention to Zelos.

"I feel terrible for how I acted. I was so scared to ask you, but I could have saved everyone a lot of trouble if I just would have asked. I think I was turning back into a lifeless angel, that's why I need you Zelos, you keep me alive. Promise that you'll never leave me," Storm said as she pulled herself closer to him.

"I promise you, I will never leave you," Zelos replied. "But now I have something important for you. I have to give you what Sheena helped me find. I saw this and knew that it was for you," Zelos added as he pulled something out for her.

"You didn't need to get me anything," Storm replied.

"I think that I did," he replied as he got down on one knee and took her hand. "Storm Aurion, will you marry me?" he asked as he pulled out a beautiful diamond ring and placed it on her finger.

Storm was speechless and was starting to feel dizzy again, except it was a different kind of dizzy.

"Storm, please say something, the tension is killing me," Zelos said, snapping her out of her daze.

"Oh, sorry. Yes! Of course I'll marry you Zelos," Storm replied as she threw her arms around him. He stood up and they kissed. Storm was so happy to back in the arms of the man she loved. She couldn't have been any happier if she tried. Her depression faded away fast as she continued to kiss Zelos.

"Aw, that's so sweet," Colette exclaimed.

Storm and Zelos turned around and saw the entire group behind them. Her father actually looked very happy at the sight of his daughter kissing the red head. He could tell that she was happy, and he hoped that she would be feeling better much sooner now that the two were back together.

"How long have you guys been standing there?" Storm asked.

"Well, we were here long enough to see Zelos finally propose to you," Sheena replied.

Storm walked over to Sheena and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry that I was such a jerk, will you forgive me Sheena?" she asked.

"Of course, that's what friends do right?" she replied.

The rest of the group began to head back to the Rheihards. Zelos and Storm were in the back of the group, holding hands with Storm's head resting on Zelos' shoulder.

They got on board the Rheihards, with Storm switching places with Sheena so she could sit by Zelos. As she sat on the Rheihard behind Zelos, she wrapped her arms around him and put her head back on his shoulder to give him a kiss on the cheek.

_I'll be Mrs. Storm Wilder. We'll be together forever, this is the happiest day of my life, I just wish that it could last forever, she thought as they made their way towards Flanoir._

Well, that's it and I hope that it was okay, I'll warn you they won't actually get married in this story, they will just be engaged (maybe), but I was so happy to write that chapter. I wanted them back together so bad. Anyway, please review and offer some ideas if you have any. Thanks!


	19. Chapter 19: Still Family

I'm glad that everyone liked the plot twist. I don't think that they'll get married in this story, but at least they're engaged. Anyway, this story is wrapping up, I'm looking at about 4-5 chapters. I'm not sure, I might add more or take some out. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter, I hope it shows something about Storm that no one really knew.

Chapter 19: Still Family

"Kvar has failed to kill Storm while she was ill," Pronyma explained to an army of Desians being led my Magnius and Forcystus, "I say that it's time to start this war. Our armies will charge into Symphonia, search everyone and destroy everything in your path. We will find and kill Storm. Let the time of the prophecy begin!" she screamed to her army as they cheered.

"Man, I can't believe we have to wait until tomorrow until the doctor will see Storm," Lloyd complained for about the hundredth time since they arrived at the inn in Flanoir.

"Lloyd, just shut up and be patient, at least we're finally here," Sheena yelled back at him.

"When has he ever been patient about anything," Genis muttered to Sheena who was sitting next to him.

After a brief silence in the group, Lloyd finally looked up and saw Zelos and Storm cuddled up next to each other on the couch. Storm hated the cold and was trying to warm up with Zelos, but she was still shivering. Lloyd looked at his sister and Zelos, still trying to get used to the fact that they were now engaged. Heck, he didn't even know that they loved each other that way, they were very discreteabout that.

"Hey Storm, I bet that you're happy now that you're out of Cruxis, huh?" Lloyd asked.

"I guess...," she replied hesitantly.

"I mean, it must have been awful having to grow up with Mithos, he didn't seem like he treated you very well. I would have hated that," Lloyd replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Storm asked, very agitated by his sudden remarks.

"I mean, we all saw the way that he treated you, and having to put up with that your whole life must have been hell compared to what life's like for you now," he replied.

"You don't even understand what my life was like Lloyd. Mithos was not always like that. He was really great to me when I was little. It was after I met you guys that he started to get like that," she replied angrily.

"Wait, so you liked Mithos? Would you have stayed with him, or did you really want to join us. You always seemed like you couldn't decide," Lloyd asked.

"Do you want the truth Lloyd?" she asked as she got off the couch and stood over him, "The truth is that everyday I wonder if I made the right choice. I don't think I would have joined your group if Dad would have stayed with Mithos. Mithos was more like a family than you were. I won't have you saying bad things about the man who helped raise me," she yelled.

Lloyd got to his feet and stared her in the face. "So, you would still go along with someone who would sacrifice someone for their ideals?" Lloyd asked.

"It's no different than what you did," she replied.

"Storm!" Kratos yelled out, trying to stop her.

"Dad, I can take care of myself, he needs to be taught how to respect the dead," she replied to her father.

"I never did anything like that!" Lloyd yelled back.

"What do you call what you did to Magnius, Kvar, Pronyma, Forcystus, and Mithos? What do you call what you were doing when you tried to kill Yuan and Dad? They stood in the way of what _you_ thought was right. But, of course, they thought that their ideals were just. When they got in your way, you killed them. That's no different than what Mithos did," she replied.

"It _was_ different!" Lloyd yelled back. "I can't believe that you're going to back them all up. Are you with us or against us?" Lloyd asked angrily, drawing his two swords at her.

"Lloyd, stop it right now," Raine yelled at him.

"I was on your side, but now I'm not too sure," Storm replied as she drew her sword and revealed her wings.

"Storm, relax," Zelos yelled at her, trying to talk some sense in her.

Lloyd ran at her, but she easily dodged him and teleported herself behind him, blasting him with a small amount of mana, knocking him against the wall.

"Lucky shot," Lloyd mumbled trying to pull himself up from the floor. Just then, Storm's sword flew into the wooden wall, right by Lloyd's arm. She ran out of the inn, with Zelos close behind her.

"Damn, I wish Lloyd could use a sword that well," Kratos said to Raine who was standing next to him.

"Why? She missed me," Lloyd replied.

"She wasn't aiming at you," Sheena pointed out as Lloyd attempted to get up, but found that his sleeve was caught where Storm's sword attached to the wall.

"You should apologize to her," Kratos said calmly as he helped Lloyd free himself from the wall.

"Why? She's the one who's acting like the enemy here, not me," Lloyd asked.

"Because, she's right when she says that Mithos was kind to her when she was growing up. It wasn't until the Chosen's journey began that he started getting violent with her. He was always like family to her. I can understand how she feels, he was one of my good friends. It was hard to betray him when I first left him, before I met Anna," Kratos replied.

"Well...Professor! You understand where I'm coming from, don't you?" Lloyd asked.

Raine replied by slapping upside the head. "Lloyd, you were a real jerk! How would you feel if Storm insulted Dirk?" she asked.

"I'd be angry and upset," he replied.

"Exactly, that's how she viewed Mithos. Now, you need to go and apologize to her," Raine replied.

"I suppose I should, I shouldn't have judged someone I never really got to know," Lloyd replied as he went to the door.

He walked around Flanoir until he found Storm and Zelos standing in the same spot where Lloyd once heard the entire story of his father's past over a year ago. Storm was crying, and Zelos was trying his best to comfort her with her wrapped in his arms. Lloyd had never seen that side of Storm, she usually stayed strong and tried not to cry in front of others. Storm saw him and hid her face from him. Zelos walked up to Lloyd, attempting to protect Storm from anymore pain.

"I hope you're not planning on hurting her any more than you already have," Zelos said.

"No, I came here to apologize to Storm, can I talk to her?" he asked.

"Go ahead, but be kind," Zelos said as he walked to Storm and whispered something in her ear and headed back to the inn.

Lloyd cautiously walked over to Storm and stood next to her, trying to figure out the right thing to say. Finally, he decided to break the silence between them.

"Storm, I'm sorry I was such a jerk, I really didn't mean to hurt you. I'm not a very good big brother, all I do is make you cry," Lloyd said.

"I...I wasn't crying," Storm replied as she shivered a little in the cold air. "I'm sorry too, I let my emotions get the best of me, and I didn't even think about what it was like for you to meet Mithos. I just wish that it could have all turned out different and we all could have lived together. You really would have liked Mithos," she replied.

"I wish it could have turned out different too. It was hard to kill him, it's hard to kill anyone and I really don't enjoy taking someone else's life. I'm sorry, you must hate me," he replied.

"I don't hate you, you're the best big brother anyone could ask for. If it wasn't for you I never would have began to open up. After I betrayed you guys, I couldn't help but think about you all the time, and it always killed me to be fighting against you. I don't know why, but I've always had a strong relationship with you, even from the beginning," Storm said.

"Hey, I felt that way too. It really hurt when you left us, and I always had a strong connection to you, it's like I always knew we were related," Lloyd replied. He looked over at Storm who had her arms wrapped around her chest, trying to get warm. He could tell that she really despised the cold. He wrapped her up in a hug. "Let's go back inside before you freeze," he said as they walked back to the inn together.

The next day, the group went to the doctor in Flanoir, who actually had the antidote to the poison. It was a relatively common type of poison that Forcystus had used, and she was able to identifyit quickly and treat it just as quickly. After resting for the rest of the day, the group decided to head to Heimdall the next day to see if the elder had any more ideas on what to do next.

The next day, the group took the Rheihards to Heimdall and were shocked at the scene that awaited them. The elven city was ablaze and there was a large army of Desians destroying the entire city, killing anyone who was getting in the way. Storm was enraged at the sight and any strength that had yet to come back to her, immediately returned. She saw Pronyma standing back and watching the destruction, and Storm screamed out at her.

"If you were looking for me, I'm over here Pronyma. Leave the elves alone and let's take this battle somewhere else," she yelled as she pulled out her communicator.

"Ah, Storm. Just who I was looking for. I believe that the hour of the prophecy is upon us. I will meet you in the field outside of this city or else this city will be completely destroyed," she said as she led her army out of the city. The rest of the group ran over to help any elves who were injured in the attack.

Storm took her communicator and called in a few favors, then went to prepare for the final battle with Pronyma. She walked over to Zelos and stared at the wreckage that Pronyma had left. She grabbed his hand as he rubbed her back soothingly.

"It's all my fault," Storm said sadly.

"No, it's Pronyma's, but you can stop her, I believe in you," Zelos said.

"We all believe in you," Lloyd said as he walked over to her and gave her back her sword from the other day. "You might need this," he said.

"Thank you. I will try my best," she said.

Well, that's it here. Next, the battle will begin. What will be the outcome and who will be the reincarnate of Spiritua and fulfill the prophecy. If you've forgotten the prophecy, I suggest you go back so you know what will be going on. I hope you liked this chapter and I hope you'll enjoy the battle. It should be pretty cool, hopefully. Please review!


	20. Chapter 20: The Hour of War

1All right, I can't believe that I finally get to write these few chapters. I'm guessing on three chapters for the war to take place over, so be prepared. There will be lots of excitement. Anyway, I've had the ideas for this war in my head since I began writing the first chapter, so don't be offended if your ideas aren't in here. Oh, and if anyone has any suggestions for Storm stories for me to write, give me ideas by sending a personal message through my profile page. One-shots, sequels, or the prequel I was considering. Whatever, I'm open for suggestions as far as that goes. I will see what I can come up with. Well, here goes.

Chapter 20: The Hour of War

Storm and the others lined up in the middle of the field. On the other side was Pronyma, leading her Desian army, consisting of about four hundred or so soldiers. Storm and her band of nine members were outrageously outnumbered. Storm flew up into the air and waited for Pronyma to do the same. Pronyma flew above her army and flew towards the middle, Storm doing the same. They ended up around a hundred feet from each other.

"Well Storm, this may be easier than I thought, you seem to be outnumbered," Pronyma pointed out.

"Well Pronyma, perhaps you should look more closely," Storm replied as she looked behind her.

The rest of her group had no idea what Storm was so confident about. They looked behind them and saw Yuan bringing in a large army of Renegades. But even with these reinforcements they were still drastically outnumbered.

"Big deal, so you've got a few more soldiers, you'll still be wiped out by my army," Pronyma laughed.

"I wasn't done," Storm said as she looked to the skies. From the distance a multitude of angels flew onto the field, prepared to fight. They were all equipped with either swords or spears. They had more life and personality on them since Cruxis had been destroyed. Storm and Pronyma's armies were now evenly matched and both were ready to fight. Storm had managed to call in her reinforcements just in time, and had saved her group's necks.

Pronyma gave Storm a death glare and flew back towards her army, Storm flew around and landed near hers. She flew down to where her friends were and greeted Yuan.

"Thanks for coming on such notice," she said as she hugged him.

"Hey, when Derris Kharlan is in stake, we move quickly," he replied.

"What's the plan?" Lloyd asked.

"Head on assault, the angels will attack from the air and everyone will take it from the ground. I'm assuming that you can lead your troops Yuan?" Storm asked.

"Yes, but I would like to have Sheena, Raine, and Genis accompany me. We could use the Summon Spirits and Raine and Genis' magic," Yuan replied.

"Good. Lloyd I expect that you, Regal, and Presea can also help the soldiers," Storm said.

"I'm ready to kick some Desian butt if everyone else is," he replied enthusiastically. The others nodded in agreement.

"Great, now Kratos, Zelos, and Colette will lead the angels. If things look grim, get everyone to safety and I'll try to take care of it," she added. "No one touch Pronyma, she's mine," she ordered with fire in her eyes.

"Let's do this already," Sheena said as the group split up into their groups. Zelos and Storm gave each other a quick hug and kiss before they went their separate ways.

Storm flew up and decided to give her army a little inspiration. She flew up to the level her angels were flying at and flew along the line and yelled to everyone, "It all comes down to this battle. No matter what happens out there, never give up hope, never surrender. This is for Derris Kharlan, we can't let her win. If she does, life will return the way it once was: lifeless. We can't let that happen, we must protect what belongs to you all. For Derris Kharlan!" Storm yelled as her army cheered.

Pronyma, on the other side of the field, was flying across her line, "It's time to take back what rightfully belongs to us. We can't let Derris Kharlan fall into the hands of the humans. It's time to finish what Mithos started. Remember, you're fighting for your rights. For the Age of Half-Elves!" she yelled as her army cheered.

Storm and Pronyma both gave the signal to their armies to attack and the battle began. Both sides charged and when the two sides met, it seemed as if the ground shook from their impact. Kratos led the angels into combat from above, attacking Pronyma's soldiers in the back of her army. Genis, Raine, and Yuan attacked with their magical attacks, launching them hundreds of feet, causing serious damage to her lines. Angels, Renegades, and Desians were all falling quickly. There was bloodshed and death all over the place as soldiers were ripped apart by each other. Lloyd was showing off his impressive sword skills, while Sheena was flooding the field with the help of Undine.

Storm flew up to Pronyma at full speed, with Pronyma coming at her as quickly as she could as well. They collided, throwing each other backward from the attacks. The two were attacking each other hundreds of feet above their armies. Storm went to attack Pronyma, who was able to move away quickly, landing a blow to Storm in the back, sending her flying to the ground. Storm stopped short a few feet from the ground and turned herself around and flew back up towards the leader. Pronyma attempted to attack Storm with her Leonasium attack when she reached her but Storm managed to teleport behind her and attack Pronyma with her Death Eater attack instead.

Pronyma recovered and the two looked at each other mid air. Storm was about to attack when her headache returned, full force. She looked over at Pronyma who seemed to be suffering from the same thing. Suddenly, Storm left the battlefield. It felt just like in the forest when she saw the vision of Spiritua, except she didn't know where she was.

_She tried to look around, and soon realized that she was in the Tower of Salvation. She saw Spiritua, the two boys, Kratos, and what appeared to be a member of Cruxis. It looked as if she was watching Spiritua turn into an angel, just like Colette once had. She stared on and knew that Spiritua was unable to say anything. This scene reminded her so much of all the things she once went through with Lloyd and the others. There was her father, standing around, watching the whole scene unfold as Spiritua looked to her friends. Unlike her last time, no one was trying to save her, instead they all looked happy. She looked to Kratos and saw the pain in his eyes, she could tell that the deception of the event was killing him inside. _

_Suddenly, she heard what sounded like Spiritua's voice. She didn't know how it was possible, but she assumed that she was hearing Spiritua's thoughts before she lost her life._

_"I have lost so much more than my life because of my duty as the Chosen. I lost my dignity, my freedom, and my soul. It is because of the people of this world that I must die. I will die for them and I was treated worthless my whole life by everyone I knew. I swear, they will all pay for my suffering. I will shed the blood of all the people in this world to repay for my pain. I will make them all suffer for what they did to me," Storm heard Spiritua think before her soul was lost to the angel of Cruxis, ending her short life._

_Storm remembered Mithos telling her of the failed vessel Spiritua, When her body didn't work she was killed off completely, making he sacrifice pointless._

_Suddenly, it grew dark around the Tower of Salvation as the darkness crept over her vision. She saw the eyes that had haunted her in the past._

_"No! It can't be," Storm gasped as she awoke from her vision._

"Haha! I didn't even have to kill you Storm. It seems as if Spiritua had something to settle with the world, and she knew I was the best choice to carry on her wish. I guess family ties don't go that far," Pronyma laughed maniacally as she began a gruesome transformation. Large, black wings erupted from her back as she was infused with Spiritua's power.

The wings, were feathered like real wings and were covered in blood. A black aura began to spill from Pronyma's body and it suddenly erupted violently as Storm was thrown backward from the energy. She was slammed into the ground several hundred feet behind her side of the battlefield. Kratos saw her fall to the ground, and called the remaining troops back. The army retreated as Pronyma continued her transformation.

"Derris Kharlan will belong to me!" she laughed as the black darkness began to change the mid day, sunny sky into a pitch black night sky. Storm looked up and was hardly able to see anything through the darkness. Pronyma landed alongside her army, and lining them up created a large firewall in front of them.

Kratos and the rest of her friends surrounded her and the scene from her dream returned to her (A/N check out chap 1). Lloyd still had a look of determination on his face, but it seemed he was only using it to cover up the fatigue and hopelessness that he really wished to expressed. Her father was scouting the area for any signs of a way to help their chances of winning. Everyone else in the group had already seemed to have given up hope. They had realized that without Spiritua's reincarnate on their side, their chances of winning were impossible.

Well, there you go. That's the first part of the war. Storm and the gang will try to keep fighting, but it won't be very good. Anyway, keep reading, don't give up on me yet. Anyway, I hope you liked it, I'm sure everyone's jaws are at the floor by now. I love twisting the story on everyone. I always thought it was funny when everyone kept reviewing throughout the story thinking that Storm was the reincarnate, but she wasn't. I was always busting up laughing at my computer, it was hard to keep it a secret. Anyway, please review and tell me what you thought. Remember, if you want to see more Storm, give me ideas by messaging me at my profile page. Thanks!


	21. Chapter 21: Hope

1Okay, round one is over and it seems as if Pronyma has the upper hand on Storm. But of course, it's not over yet. Thanks for all the reviews, I hope that you like this chapter too. Oh, and didn't you just love my plot twist. I'm evil I know. Enjoy!

Chapter 21: Hope

After being healed by Raine and Kratos, Storm was able to stand on her own two feet again. She had taken a lot of damage, and from the looks of her army, they had as well. Things weren't looking good for Storm's side and she could tell how dire the situation was from the looks on her comrades' faces

"What are we supposed to do now, the prophecy said that whoever is Spiritua's reincarnate will win the battle and gain Derris Kharlan," Lloyd said.

"I know, but I can't give up just because of that. The only way that this war will end is if one of us is killed. I won't stop fighting until either she is dead, or I am," Storm replied.

"I don't know if I can let you go out there," Kratos spoke up.

Storm turned to her father and looked him in the eyes. "Dad, now is the time for you to let me go. I'm the only one who can do this, if I don't then everyone else will suffer for it. I will fight with all my heart, I'll fight for everyone," she said.

Kratos displayed a rare amount of emotion as he hugged his daughter tightly, not wanting to ever let her go, but also realizing that she was right. He held onto her for a long time, afraid that it may be the last time he would ever see her. Once he let her go, she walked back to her fatigued soldiers and prepared them for the second round of attacks.

"I know it may look hopeless, I know that you're all tired, but you need to keep strong and have faith. If we work together and have hope then there is nothing that can stop us, not even a prophecy," Storm yelled out as the army cheered for her. Zelos walked over to her and they shared a long, intimate kiss as the troops began to move towards Pronyma's side of the field. Storm and Zelos let go, and Storm flew into the air to prepare the attack.

"For Derris Kharlan!" she yelled as her side charged the field soon followed by Pronyma's troops advancing towards them.

Storm saw Pronyma emerge from the distance, her huge black wings making her look even more threatening than before. She flew at Storm who began to chant her Angel Feathers attack. Right before Pronyma hit her, Storm moved to the side and launched her attack. She hit Pronyma head on, but she seemed to be unfazed by the attack. Storm tried to block Pronyma's attack, but was unable to dodge the dark energy that Pronyma hit her with and she was knocked across the sky, but was able to stay air borne. Storm began to chant her strongest attack, hoping to at least apply some damage to the angel.

"Sacred powers cast light upon these corrupted souls. Blame your fate! Judgement!" she yelled as rays of light began to rain upon the land. Pronyma was engulfed by one of the rays. Storm thought that she had at least done some damage to Pronyma, but noticed that the light from the attack turned into darkness and Pronyma emerged, unharmed.

"Is that all you got runt? This is just too pathetic," Pronyma said as she hit Storm, hard with another attack of energy, sending her towards the ground. Storm managed to catch herself and fly back up towards Pronyma. Storm was bleeding and bruised from just the few attacks Pronyma had used, and yet Pronyma looked ready for more.

"Bloody Lance!" Storm heard Pronyma cry out and Storm felt herself be attacked by a large spear shaped energy bolt that sent an enormous amount of pain to every inch of her body. The attack made her feel as if her insides had suddenly caught on fire, and she began to bleed profusely from the spot she was hit. Storm was barely hanging on, but was still in the air. Pronyma took the opportunity to grab Storm by the wrist and pulled her towards her. Storm screamed as she felt her skin burning from only the touch of the dark angel's skin on her own. Storm was in extreme pain and tried her best to concentrate on what was going on.

"The best way to kill you, is to feed off of your pain and suffering. I know that even the angel of light has plenty of darkness in her heart. You will be consumed with pain from the inside out," Pronyma laughed as a ray of darkness shot out of Pronyma and went into Storm. Storm's mind became full of horrible thoughts and images.

_She couldn't remember this event. She looked over and saw her mother, she was turning into the horrible monster her father had spoken of before. The look on her mother's face was full of sadness and horror. She saw the monster advancing towards her. She saw her mother raise her hand to prepare and strike her, but Storm was unable to get away. She cried out for her father but no one came to help her. Just before she was attacked, Noishe jumped in and saved her life. The monster cried out in pain, but soon threw Noishe off. The monster turned back into her mother momentarily and cried out in pain._

_"Kratos...please kill me...before I hurt our family...please," Anna cried before she turned into a monster again. _

_Storm looked over and saw as her father ran towards Storm and her brother just as her mother was about to attack again. She saw the pain in his eyes, the guilt, and the sadness. She wanted to comfort him, but there was nothing she could do for him. She began to feel as if all the things she had done for Cruxis had been hard for his father to watch after everything he had done to protect his family from them. She couldn't even imagine all the pain she had probably caused him, working for Mithos. _

_Soon, the vision was gone, replaced by a familiar one in her mind. She was lying on the cold floor in Derris Kharlan. Pronyma had just beaten her and had left her to bleed all over the floor. She could feel pain all over, but more than that she remembered the depression, the feeling of being lost. She realized how pointless, how meaningless her life was. It was so full of pain and hatred, she felt like giving up and dying._

_As soon as that vision left her she encountered more and more painful memories, never leaving her. All the hatred, rage, guilt, pain, sorrow, and depression that had been accumulating over the years, were all coming back to her in an endless stream. She couldn't see or feel anything but pain. She felt the darkness begin to consume her and her strength was leaving her._

Kratos looked up at the battle in the sky and saw Pronyma attack Storm with some sort of darkness, and Storm began to fall from the sky. Her wings had disappeared, probably from a lack of energy, and she was falling head first to the ground. Kratos flew quickly towards his daughter and managed to catch her before she hit the ground. He flew her over to a relatively vacant area on the field and tried to wake her up. She was mumbled about darkness and pain. She was in distress and he was sure it was because of what Pronyma had done to her. He looked at her wrist and realized that it was black and burnt, from Pronyma's grasp.

"Storm, you have to get through this, you can't let her win. I know that something horrible is going on in your mind, but you have to remember all the good times you've had in your life. Remember what your mother would say to you. Don't give up Storm, you can fight this, you can win," Kratos pleaded as he tried to wake her up.

_All the good times? She thought hard, she remembered, somewhere in the recesses of her mind, a memory with her family. She remembered staring at the stares with what she believed was a younger Lloyd, her father, and her mother. They stared up at the night sky as they sat on a blanket. Storm was sitting on Kratos' lap and Lloyd was leaning against their mother. _

_"Daddy, what are stars made of?" Lloyd had asked Kratos._

_Kratos stared up at the stars, obviously thinking of something to respond with. Finally, he looked at the two of them and smiled. He looked back up at the sky. "The stars are built off of the hopes and dreams of every person. As long as people have hope, the sky will remain bright from those stars," Kratos replied._

_Hope...Storm thought to herself._

_She thought to just a few days ago, back on her dream with her mother. She remembered her words clearly. (A/N Chap 11) _

_"You have your family and friends and they are all counting on you to be strong and fight. Without you Pronyma will rule Derris Kharlan and everyone's dreams will be worthless. You can't allow something like that to happen to the ones you love. If you die, you'd be killing all of them as well. Don't let that happen. Don't forget, if you ever need me, I'll be right here. Fight for the two of us. Have hope," she had said._

_She had promised her mother that she would keep fighting, that she would defeat Pronyma and she wasn't going to let her down. She would have hope, she wouldn't let that hope die._

Storm woke up from her trance and looked at her father who was standing over her. She stood up slowly and looked around, noticing that most of their soldiers were seriously injured, most of them laying on the ground. Storm began to hope and pray, asking her mother to help give her the help she needed.

_Mom, what should I do? I don't know how to do this? She thought._

Suddenly, a white light began to glow from Storm as she felt a warm and comforting aura surround her. Kratos stared at her, unable to believe what he was seeing. The white light floated around Storm and Kratos, wrapping itself around him before entering Storm's body.

"Anna?" Kratos asked out loud, sure that he knew the feelings that were pouring into his heart and soul.

_"Storm I'm here to help you, with our hope, there is nothing that we can't do. Just believe," Anna said to Storm._

Two large, white wings sprouted from Storm's back, they looked just like angel wings. These wings were pure white and were actually made out of feathers. Storm began to glow brightly, and the darkness that consumed the area, disappeared where she was standing. She flew up in the air and, staring at her tired soldiers began to chant.

"Sacred powers, bring hope to these injured souls. Salvation!" she yelled as all of the fighters on her side, including her friends and family, began to glow the same as Storm. They began to rise, revived and rejuvenated from her angelic spell.

Lloyd and the others were all shocked at Storm's transformation and her new powers. Even more shocked than they were, was Pronyma who was furious at the other end of the field.

"It looks like it's time for round three," Storm said as she prepared to face Pronyma in what would be the final showdown.

Woah, cliffie! Hey, I was generous and didn't leave you at where I was going to. I was going to end before Anna decided to come in. Oh, and she's not Anna's reincarnate or anything. Anna is just aiding her for this battle. Okay, so please review and tell me what you think. Thanks.


	22. Chapter 22: The Final Battle

1All right, the final round. Only one angel will come out of this alive. I wonder who? Okay, I won't leave you in suspense. Enjoy!

Chapter 22: The Final Round

The Renegades and angels attacked the field for the third, feeling completely rejuvenated after Storm's spell. Pronyma watched in horror as her troops began to fall like flies. Her troops couldn't stand up to Storm's troops who were at full health.

Storm turned Pronyma's attention away to the battle below as Storm rushed at her full speed and tackled her, soon bouncing off of her with her Outburst attack. Her attack powers were boosted with her new form, causing Pronyma to fly through the air. Pronyma opened up her wings like a parachute to slow herself down. She flew back at Storm who was ready for anything she could dish out.

"I'm tired of this, watch your troops begin to fall. Meteor Storm!" Pronyma yelled as a large group of meteors began to descend upon the field. Storm was hit by one and it threw her into the ground. She was underneath the meteor and used a blast of mana to blow it apart, freeing herself from under the ground. She flew back up at Pronyma, who couldn't believe that she was able to survive the attack.

By now, the light around Storm had caused the sky around the battle to turn from pitch black to gray. She flew up to Pronyma and prepared for another spell. "Holy Lance!" she cried as Pronyma was engulfed in a bright light and was attacked by what appeared to be spears made out of rays of light. Pronyma cried out in pain at the attack, but refused to give up.

"Okay runt, this is going to end now," she said as she flew over to the other end of the field. Storm had no idea what she was doing but soon saw her beginning to chant a spell that Storm had never heard before.

"Holy powers, bring darkness and suffering upon the world. Destroy everything, leave no survivors. Now is the time of Judgement, run while you still can. Apocalypse!" Pronyma yelled as the sky grew dark again and a darkness poured out from Pronyma and began to cover the field. It was killing everyone it touched, even Pronyma's own army. At this point, Pronyma didn't care who she killed as long as Storm would die.

Storm knew she had to do something to stop the attack, but didn't know how to. She was running out of time and noticed that the darkness was coming closer to where her friends and family stood and she knew that if she didn't stop it they would die instantly. She began to look for any source of power, calling upon the strength of her whole body, mind, and soul. Suddenly, as her pleas for help were being answered, she felt all of her power flow to the surface. Anna was calling to her as they both began to chant, their voices overlapping each other.

"Sacred power, shed thy light upon the land. Cast these corrupted souls into eternal damnation, so others may live peacefully. Divine Judgement!" Storm and Anna both yelled as a huge explosion of white light erupted from Storm and flew quickly over the field. Storm was engulfed in the light and Kratos wasn't even able to see Storm anymore through the bright light. The light hit the darkness from Pronyma's attack. The two forces seemed evenly matched, but Storm's light seemed to gain ground as all of her soldiers, her friends, and her family all prayed and hoped for Storm's success. This hope added power to Storm's attack as the light shot through Pronyma's and hit the angel head, sending her to the ground.

_Storm saw another vision as the light began to leave her and she gently floated back down to the ground. She was in the place she had been before when she had once talked to her mother. Her mother was standing across from her with a smile on her face._

_"I can not help you anymore Storm, I've used all the power that I had and now I must return," Anna said._

_"No Mom, don't leave me, I need you. Besides, you just got here," Storm cried._

_Anna walked over to her and gave her a big hug. She looked at the necklace around Storm's neck. She smiled at the small token from Kratos. "Don't forget, it doesn't matter how far away we are from each other, you can be sure that I will be looking at the same sky as you are and I'll be thinking of you," she said as she let go of Storm and wiped away the tears from her face. (Chap 8)_

_"Mom...," Storm barely whispered as she watched Anna walk into the distance._

_"Storm, please be happy, remember I love you all," she said as she disappeared._

Storm landed on the ground and looked all over. Her white wings had disappeared and she wondered where Pronyma had gone to. She revealed her blue wings and flew across the battlefield to look for Pronyma. She saw Pronyma getting off of the ground, her black wings were gone. Pronyma noticed Storm, and full of rage tackled her head on, knocking Storm into the ground.

"I will make you suffer you worthless maggot. How dare you try to take Derris Kharlan away from me. How were you able to defeat my most powerful form?" Pronyma yelled.

"Prophecies aren't always true," Storm smiled as she teleported herself behind Pronyma and hit her with a blast of mana, sending her flying across the field. Storm flew up into the air and Pronyma quickly followed, with hatred in her eyes. She hit Storm with her Aggarasium attack, followed by her Leonasium attack.

Kratos and the others were making their way to different sides of the field to see if they could aid Storm in her fight. They were all very far away from where Storm and Pronyma were battling at.

Pronyma kicked Storm into the ground. Storm hit the ground and felt the last of her strength leave her and she was unable to move. She struggled to open her eyes, and was unable to pull out her wings. She opened her eyes and saw Pronyma land in front of her.

"I guess the prophecy was true," Pronyma laughed as she prepared to strike Storm. "It's about time that you die!"

Storm closed her eyes, preparing for the final attack. She was unable to move and awaited her end. She couldn't believe that after all the work and all of the fighting Pronyma would still gain control of Derris Kharlan. All of the fighting had been worthless.

She didn't feel any pain, in fact the only thing she felt was something wet on her. She opened her eyes and saw Pronyma standing over her, bleeding from her stomach, a sword sticking through. The look on Pronyma's face was one of pure shock. Storm looked to see who had attacked her. She saw Zelos behind her, anger in his eyes.

"Don't you dare touch her!" he yelled as he pulled his sword out from her. "Now, burn in hell!" he yelled as he threw the sword into her once again, killing her instantly.

Pronyma fell next to Storm, her body, disintegrating away as her life finally ended. Storm looked up at Zelos as he helped her off of the ground. She hugged him tightly and he returned the embrace.

"You know, you can be really scary when you're overprotective," she laughed. "Thank you."

"No problem, there's no way that I'm going to let someone like that take you away from me," Zelos said.

She looked into his eyes, and he looked into his and they kissed in the middle of the field. They kissed very passionately for what seemed like forever. They both lost themselves in the kiss, melting into one another. Soon, the kiss was broken, by none other than Kratos.

"Okay, save that for when you're married," he said.

Storm looked around and realized that all the Desians were gone from the field.

"Where'd all the Desians go?" she asked.

"When he saw Pronyma die, Forcystus had them all retreat, or at least what was left of the army. He managed to escape, but we'll catch him later. I'm just so glad that you're okay," Kratos said as he hugged Storm.

"I can't believe that the prophecy was wrong," Lloyd said as he ran up to the group.

"Well, the prophecy didn't include Zelos," Storm replied as she smiled at her fiancee'.

Well, that's it here, I will make like one more chapter so that everyone knows what happens after this battle. My little epilogue. Anyway, I hope you liked it, I know that it was kind of short, sorry. Anyway, please review and tell me what I should do next with Storm. Thanks!


	23. Chapter 23: Truly Happy

1Okay, this chapter, as you will discover is a while after the battle. I just wanted everyone to know how things turned out for everyone. The group has been separated for a while and they are getting together for a special reason. I checked out what everyone's opinion and it seems that the popular vote was to have this be the ending. Sorry for those who wanted it to be a one shot, I hope I don't make you upset. Anyway, please read the Storm stories that will come out sometime in the near future. I don't really know when exactly though. Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading, hopefully there will be more Storm in the near future. Thank you thank you thank you...I can't do this enough. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone from TOS, but I do own Storm (she's mine I tell you!) Also, the excerpt in this chapter is called _I Love You _by Roy Croft (I don't own that). The excerpt isn't being said by anyone, but it's in italics.

Chapter 23: Truly Happy

Kratos was so nervous, he was about to walk down the aisle at his daughter's wedding. He was probably more nervous than Zelos or Storm were. Who ever thought such a powerful seraph could feel fear at something as simple as a wedding. But, it was more than just a wedding for Kratos, it was the moment when he would give his daughter to another man. Was it the right choice, would she truly be happy with Zelos? He really hoped that it would work out for her.

Suddenly, he heard the door open and Storm stepped out. She looked so beautiful to Kratos at that moment. She was wearing a rather simple, yet elegant looking dress. It was not huge, but looked stunning on her. She was wearing her hair in an elaborate bun and was showing off a dazzling smile. She walked over to her father who gazed at her proudly.

"Are you okay Dad?" she asked him as she smiled at him, patting his hand reassuringly.

"Yeah. Storm...you look so beautiful. You look like your mother," he said.

"I thought I looked like you," she said.

"I guess, but I see your mother in you," he replied.

"Well, thank you. You look pretty good too," she said flashing that large smile again.

They were all congregated at the Church of Martel in Meltokio. Sheena and Lloyd were ready to walk into the church. Storm and Zelos had two children from Heimdall come to the wedding. One would be the ring bearer, the other the flower girl. Lloyd was the Best Man and Sheena was the Maid of Honor. Raine, Genis, Regal, Presea, and Colette were all seated already waiting for the wedding to start.

"Ready?" Lloyd asked Sheena.

"You bet," she replied.

The two locked arms and walked down the aisle, soon followed by the young ring bearer. The flower girl followed soon after, throwing pink petals all over the floor. Zelos stood at the alter with a look of nervousness on his face.

Suddenly, the music changed and everyone in the church rose to watch as the bride entered. Kratos and Storm walked down the aisle together. Zelos' eyes brighten up when he saw how gorgeous Storm looked. He felt a rush of complete joy rush through his heart as he saw Storm walk down the aisle. Storm looked at the people in the crowd and saw many familiar faces. She saw many people from Heimdall, including the elder. She saw Yuan and a few of his leading officers. Almost the entire village of Mizuho was present at the ceremony as well as a large portion of Meltokio. Dirk and most of the people from Iselia had arrived to watch the young couple as well. Strangely enough, the King of Tethealla, as well as the Princess were present after hearing of Storm and Zelos' bravery to defend Symphonia.

When the two reached the end of the aisle, Kratos gave Storm over to Zelos, but before he did he managed to give her one more hug.

"I'm so proud of you Storm," he said.

"Thank you Dad. Now, I can be truly happy," she replied as he released her from his grip and let her walk over by Zelos. Kratos took his seat with the others as they watched the ceremony.

_I love you, not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you, not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me._

"I, Zelos Wilder, take you, Storm Aurion, to be my wedded wife. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish 'till death do us part. And hereto I pledge you my faithfulness," Zelos said to Storm.( A/N: Actual wedding vows! I checked!)

_I love you, for the part of me that you bring out._ _I love you, for putting your hand into my heaped-up heart, and passing over all the foolish, weak things that you can't help dimly seeing there, and for drawing out, into the light, all the beautiful belongings that no one else had looked quite far enough to find. _

"I, Storm Aurion, take you, Zelos Wilder, to be my wedded husband. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish 'till death do us part. And hereto I pledge you my faithfulness," Storm said to Zelos.

Soon, it was time for the two to exchange their wedding rings. Zelos took the rings from the ring bearer and gave one to Storm.

_I love you, because you are helping me to make out of the lumber of my life, not a tavern, but a temple. Out of the works of my everyday, not a reproach, but a song._

Storm took her ring and said to Zelos, "Love has given us wings, and our journey begins today, Zelos Wilder, wherever the wind may carry me, I will stay by your side as your wife, take this ring as a sign of my love," and gently she placed the ring onto his finger.

_I love you, because you have done more than any creed could have done to make me good, and more than any fate could have done to make me happy._

Zelos took the ring that he was holding and looking deeply into her eyes said, "Love has given us wings, and our journey begins today, Storm Aurion, wherever the wind may carry me, I will stay by your side as your husband, take this ring as a sign of my love," and he placed the ring onto her finger.

"With the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride," the priest said. Zelos looked over at Storm, who was trying to hold back tears. The feelings that they both had at that moment were undescribable. The utter bliss that consumed them, to be man and wife, to be together for the rest of their lives, it was hard to hold in.

_You have done it without a touch, without a word, without a sign. You have done it by being yourself. Perhaps that is what being a friend means, after all._

"My pleasure," Zelos said as he kissed Storm on the lips as she wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm proud to be the first to acknowledge these two as Mr. and Mrs. Zelos Wilder," the priest finished as Storm and Zelos exited the room.

Lloyd was happy for his sister, he looked over at his father and noticed a single tear escape from his eyes as he watched Storm and Zelos leave the alter. He looked over at Sheena and she looked back at him.

"I think that she's finally happy," Lloyd said to Sheena.

"I think that they're both finally happy," she replied.

Storm and Zelos spent the rest of their night with their friends and family at the reception, as they talked about their adventures, and more importantly about their future. Storm had never experienced this kind of joy in her life and leaned over and placed her head on Zelos' shoulder while holding onto his hand. He looked down at her and gently kissed her on the forehead.

Yuan and the elven elder came over and disrupted the moment with some important information.

"Storm, now that you have defeated Pronyma you are now the ruler of Derris Kharlan and all of the angels who reside there," he said.

"But, if I go there, I can't be with my family," she said sadly.

"She doesn't have to go does she?" Lloyd asked.

"I'm not sure what else we can do," the elder said.

Storm looked sadly at Zelos and then looked at Yuan. "Hey Yuan, would you like to take care of Derris Kharlan for me. You're better at being a leader than I am anyway. You could set up another Renegade base there," Storm suggested.

"Well, I suppose I could send some Renegades there and I could occasionally visit," Yuan said hesitantly.

"Just make sure that nothing bad happens to them up there, that's all I ask," she said.

Yuan looked at Storm and saw how happy she finally was and responded, "I can take care of it for you."

"Thank you so much Uncle Yuan!" Storm shouted as she threw herself around him in a large hug.

"No problem," Yuan said as Storm let go of him and walked back over to Zelos.

Before the night was over, Storm walked over to her father. Kratos looked at his daughter, still in her wedding dress. Storm gave her father a large hug and whispered in his ear, "Thank you Daddy. This never would have happened if it wasn't for you. I love you."

To hear something like that made Kratos' heart fly. It made him feel as if every wrong decision he felt he had made in his life, had somehow ended up with a happy ending. There was hope for the future. A slow song started up and Storm and her father enjoyed a dance together, as father and daughter.

Well, that's it from me. I saw that poem and some of those vows and just had to use them. Sorry if the whole thing was kind of corny. I hope you did like it. I thought that the excerpt described almost exactly how Storm and Zelos bring out the best in one another. I thought that it was cute. Thanks and I hope that you liked it. Please, I hope it wasn't horrible.


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